Breathe Slow
by sasukes
Summary: The war in his head is never over. —Sasuke-centric.
1. clash

This began as a drabble-thing for 100_situations and then I just got the plot in my head. It's different and kind of lame, but whatever.

x

breathe_slow_

"Stop it," Sasuke hissed through clenched teeth, mouth barely moving.

The wheels in his blood-red eyes were spinning, tears of blood trickling down his left cheek. He was shaking; he just didn't know if it was from so much anger or so much confusion. Or perhaps even both. Everything was a blur of—of—of something. He wished it was anger. Anger because Naruto was talking about his family as if he knew anything about them. Or the issue at hand.

He bet the idiot wouldn't be so keen into protecting little ol' corrupted Konoha if he knew.

But that was just it.

Sasuke was never going to share with him what Konoha did to his family. He was never going to share what they made his brother do.

(_But was he really? Was he? Was he forced?_

_Think about it. _

_Did he not choose to do it?_)

"Stop it, you fucking idiot." Sasuke ran an agitated hand through his hair, red eyes gleaming with ferocity, "You don't know _shit_ about what you're talking about."

Naruto stared at him, head held up high, shoulders squared and orange-red fox eyes fierce and unwavering. His clawed hands were curled into tight fists, shaking at his sides.

"Sasuke-teme, _listen_ to me!" He almost sounded desperate. " I'm not… I _know_ about what happened with the Uchihas; I know… I know… I _know_—"

But Sasuke didn't want to hear it. He didn't want Naruto's desperation or his pity—he didn't want to hear any of it.

He didn't.

He didn't.

He _didn't_.

Unadulterated anger over took him and Sasuke went in for the attack, his hands forming signs he knew by heart.

With vicious determination, they clashed.

Everything went black, after that.


	2. chains

I have not slept. I am so hungry. Blehh.

x

breathe_slow_

He heard chains dragging; voices – he heard that, too.

It was all muffled – the dragging chains and the voices. It sounded distant; far, far, far away from him – like coast to coast, drowned by life.

Sasuke blinked his eyes, but with every blink his eyelids grew heavier, his sight grew murkier – there was a heavy blur that was leaving him confused and… Why did his mouth have such a metallic tang? That… That was blood, the taste was unforgettable. But then… Why was he bleeding?

He tried to think – tried to remember what happened, but everything was such a blur; it would have angered him, had he not been too busy stumbling on his own two feet. He blinked, again, and managed a light growl even as he was pulled down a dark, damp hall. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and slowly (_everything was starting to spin and grow murkier and blurrier and what the hell's going on? His brain was pulsing and throbbing and he could distantly feel some sort of pain coursing through his limbs_) turned his head to the side.

There were bars.

Cells.

There were cells.

Sasuke stumbled, again, groaning as he was shoved to the side. "Fucking shit… What's… What the hell's going on?"

"Shut up."

The voice was hissed into his ear as he was shoved down onto a bench.

Sasuke grunted and blinked his eyes, raised his hands to rub the heel of his palms onto his eyes (_maybe that'd clear his sight_) and… There went that sound of chains. He narrowed his eyes and studied his wrists.

He was chained up, he realized, his eyes glued onto the thick metal bracelets locked around each of his wrists, bruising his pale skin.

"I'd help you, Sasuke, I would."

Everything was adding up, now.

"But you tried to kill me. You almost killed me – you _stabbed_ me through the chest, Sasuke!"

Naruto.

Rasengan.

Chidori.

His family.

Madara.

War.

"I won't help you; I don't… I don't want revenge. I don't want anything to do with you. But—"

Revenge.

"Karin."

He—

This was Konoha.

"I do wish you well, through it all. Because even if I meant nothing to you, you were still my friend."

He was captured.

Sasuke groaned and tried to concentrate as Karin (_he was positive it was Karin – it had to be her_) began to walk away.

"I'll be back later with a nurse; medication should wear off pretty soon. Last thing I need in my penitentiary are screams."


	3. eyes

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To the amazing sleep I had last night.

**notes: **I'M HUNGRYY. Also, thanks for the reviews; they make me smile and flail around. Still.

x

breathe_slow_

The bang of the bars that caged him into the cell woke Sasuke up with a start.

He jumped up, from his slumped position, only to scrunch his face up in pure pain and let out a low, agonized groan. His hands, if not locked and chained up, would have shot to his ribs, but even with the heaviness of the chains, they twitched to do so. Sasuke tried to sit up, opening his eyes and glaring at whoever had entered his cell.

Because from what he remembered from the whirlwind of blurs and haze, he was in Konoha's penitentiary.

The halls were dimmed by a dark, burnt orange glow of fluorescent lights, casting gloomy shadows from corner to corner. But Sasuke was still able to see who was in his cell.

And he didn't like it at all.

"Look at that," Karin said – because it was Karin; Sasuke knew that voice – in a drawl, "he's awake for you. Holler if you need me."

She turned and left the cell, closing the barred door behind her.

Sasuke spared a glance at his new visitor and turned away. He preferred to concentrate on the inexplicable pain he was feeling, then look at her.

Or at anyone, really.

He heard her take a breath before marching towards him.

The last he remembered of Haruno Sakura was that she had tried to kill him and he had tried to kill her.

She knelt down, in a crouch, next to him and got right to work; her hands glowed green as they hovered above the opened gashes and cuts, her eyes concentrating on them and only them.

Sasuke stared at the empty cell in front of his.

And it stayed that way.

The silence was eating at them, slowly and numbly, and she concentrated on her work and Sasuke stared at what was in front of him.

She was probably still holding on to their bond. She was probably itching to cry; itching to say something; itching to hug him. Just like she did all those years ago.

But when she stood, perhaps hours later, and Sasuke reflexively spared a glance upwards, at her, he saw what she really thought. It was written in her eyes.


	4. coercion

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Angry Birds, coz I'm addicted.

**notes: **I'm procrastinating from so much things. Idek, its just one of those days... Er, nights.

x

breathe_slow_

"War isn't over yet," Tsunade stated, frigidly and without waiting for Karin – Sasuke's escort – to leave and close the door behind her.

She was staring at him from her desk, honey-brown eyes hard and cold and calculating and assessing. She folded her fingers over each other and leaned back in her seat, eyes never tearing away from him. Sasuke stood rim-rod straight, distant and cold and angry. He was here by force. He was here by force and he hated Konoha and he was going to destroy it and everyone and—

"War is still going on," Tsunade said, "That goddamn Madara has disappeared – hopefully for good this fucking time – but he's left all those little monsters of his behind and they just _won't stay dead_."

Sasuke's apathy and anger did not change.

"We don't have time for a goddamn trial," she continued on, "Konoha's still being rebuilt; everything is still in chaos and I'm going to send you to the frontlines with the rest of those kids and you're going to prove yourself worthy of keeping around."

And his anger was just rising.

Kill all those Zetsus? For Konoha?

Fight for Konoha?

No.

No.

No.

He refused.

He _refused_.

"You're going to do it, Uchiha," Tsunade hissed, voice a bulldozer ready to crumble him up. "I _know_. And we're going to resolve this _silently_ because I'll be god fucking damned if a rebellion and a conspiracy and a civil war breaks loose. No one can afford that and I won't let it happen; not for _your_ impulsiveness."

Sasuke's jaw twitched from how hard he clenched it.

"Dismissed!"

Karin walked back into the room and escorted him back to his cell.


	5. clean

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To BK coz it satisfied me.

**notes: **ALL THESE HOES ON MY DICK.

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke stood in the middle of the penitentiary's shower room, towel around his waist.

It annoyed him more than anything that he really had had to take a _bath_.

Not that he minded getting clean, because the crust of dried up blood and the grime from dirt had been bothering him. But a _bath_? A shower would have been nice. Something within him told him Karin had lied about the showerheads not working, yet, just to get under his skin. But Sasuke was so consumed in his anger of being forced to fight for the village that he detested, that it had not allowed him to pay any mind.

There was a knock on the closed door; Sasuke spared it a glance before giving a grunt, making an effort to make it loud enough.

Karin walked in, a bundle of clothes in her arms.

Sasuke hadn't really realized she was wearing the customary jounin flak jacket; he hadn't even caught the headband around her forehead.

Not until now.

He stared at her, for a brief moment before he looked towards the tiled walls.

"Here," she said, brisk, handing him the bundle of clothes. There was an identical green flak jacket within it. "Your nin-boots are outside the door. Hurry up."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, sparring his wrists a glance.

"I need wraps."

Karin paused mid-stride towards the door.

"Hm."

Sasuke glared at her back as she walked away.


	6. run

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Cookies 'n Cream chocolate bars.

**notes: **Thanks so much for the reviews! Also: DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT STRIP? LET'S BE REAL FOR A SECOND.

x

breathe_slow_

There was just _something_ about running and jumping across the treetops that was making Sasuke's veins spike up with adrenaline.

Or maybe it was still some of his anger that was managing to seep out of the thick walls he had built within his mind.

He leapt from one branch to the other, landing in a crouch before he set off and leapt to another. The white wraps Karin had given him were probably already soiled and sprinkled with blood from splinters; a smaller, calmer side of him decided he was going to change them once they arrived at the camp.

Sasuke figured what was making him annoyed was the predicament he was in.

There was this… This urge to just speed up – skyrocket out of the formation they were all in and just _leave_.

And he would do it. He was capable of doing it; Sasuke _had always been_ and always will be the fastest of his generation.

(_Funny, how he was able to count himself as part of it, still, after everything that happened._

_Rather, after everything that **is** happening_.)

But something about the fools leaping and jumping and even conversing told him they knew he would.

There _had_ to have been a greater reason as to why they placed him closest to Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru and the godforsaken Dobe.

Clenching his jaw taut, Sasuke sped up and ignored the keen eyes on his back.


	7. briefing

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To my awesome weekend.

**notes: **May I ask why people alert completed stories? Like, it makes no sense, that logic. Uh, also, warnings, I guess, for now, _there are manga spoilers_ someway or another.

x

breathe_slow_

"I don't understand," Sakura murmured, shaking her head and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "What's... There are shinobis from Konoha, Suna and Kumo; there should be plenty of us to wipe out all of the Black and White Zetsus..."

Sasuke stood in the shadows, behind the group, staring at the tan color of the tent and half-listening to the briefing they were being given before they were split up to the different camps surrounding Madara's base.

"Don'cha 'member yerself, Sak'ra," Genma muttered, senbon switching from one side of his lips to the other. "Ye were th' one that 'formed er'one 'bout wha' th' White Zetsus can do."

Sasuke heard Sakura hum and nod her head in a thoughtful manner. "That's right... Neji had been impersonated by the White Zetsu down to the chakra signature — wait! You mean... White Zetsus are walking among us...?"

"'Fraid so," Genma sighed, taking his bandana hitai-ate off and running a hand through his hair. "Now we got 'em ta' worry 'bout, as well as th' ones that haven't infiltrated _a'n_ th' Black Zetsus. Th' shinobi are beginning to freak out." Genma grew serious, taking the senbon out of his teeth to quit his slurring. "The key to surviving here, kiddies, is to keep calm and keep vigilant. So you better keep your guard up and take the saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' as literally as you can."

Sasuke swallowed his scoff, and settled for rolling his eyes and closing his grip on the Alliance hitai-ate that he was given upon arriving at the camp. He tightened his grip until he heard the cloth begin to rip. His jaw clenched with anger.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto drawled, crossing his arms behind his head, "I bet I can detect all of them — ow! Sakura-chan!"

"Idiot," Sakura hissed, glaring at him and shoving a fist in his face, "that's going to get you _killed_! Do things right for once!"

"Righ'," Genma drawled, slur back into play now that the senbon was in between his lips. "So 'm s'posed ta' split ye up."


	8. reproach

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Towel Time.

**notes: **SO MY PLANS. Are to finish some of these drabble series, soon (which requires daily updates, ew), and then move on to the Bleach and DBZ fandoms. Just coz the Naruto fandom gets on my nerves far, far too much.

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke didn't exactly know the name of the feeling he felt, from watching the others huddle together. He knew he felt anger, in every form; frustration, rage... Everything. He hated being there, far apart from them, in the shadows, waiting to leave. Actually, he felt anger for just about everything, now.

It was like having it all carefully suppressed behind a carefully crafted blank mask, only letting it out when he wasn't careful, and now... The mask was off and there was rage all over the place.

Watching those who he grew up with, huddled together like a tightly knit family, gave him rage.

(_And envy._

_Come on and admit it, foolish idiot. Jealous coz you're not there. Jealous coz you want to be there._

_Jealous and envious. Jealous and envious._)

Sasuke's eyes hardened into a vehement glare, scanning them all before looking away, reproachfully.

"'Tebayo!" Naruto pumped a fist into the air, "This'll be easy, you'll see; I'll handle all these lameos and then we can go to Ichiraku's and have some ramen!"

Sakura, next to him, sighed, slipping fingerless gloves onto her hands. "Shut up, Naruto, _please_! And pay attention to everything, for once! The last thing we want is those... _things_ ...to impersonate _you_."

"That'd be troublesome," Shikamaru, who was just a tad bit closer to Sasuke, muttered.

"Alright," Neji said, "Let's get moving."

A second later, Naruto appeared in front of Sasuke's line of vision, grin on his lips and a challenge in his blue eyes. Sasuke's glare darkened all the more.

"Bet I can get more than you, Teme," he said, grinning, broadly.

Sasuke blinked his eyes and continued to glare, sparing the others a glance and almost growling at the sight of them all watching him and Naruto, intently. He returned his attention to Naruto and sneered, "Get away from me, you idiot."

He quickly turned away and took off into the woods and up onto the thick tree branches, towards the west._  
><em>


	9. resent

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To sleep. And soda. And frapps. And all nighters, even when you can't even see straight.

**notes: **Dear Anon, I do love this story. Very much so, actually. Also, I need a haircut, again. My hair grows faster than... than... Man, I can't think of something obscene to say. Balls. Anyway; thanks for the support, so far, guys! :)

x

breathe_slow_

Swinging from one branch to the other, Sasuke could hear them at his tail.

Yamanaka Ino and... Sai.

The three of them were sent off to the west camp; although, Sasuke didn't really see why Yamanaka was separated from her two teammates. From what little he could remember from years back, she worked well with them. What was that called again... Teamwork.

"Hey, you _asshole_."

And still so loud. Yes, Sasuke remembered her being as loud as the _Dobe_.

But as loud as she was, Sasuke didn't pay any mind to her. His focus was straight ahead and at the ringing sound in his ears. Still so angry; still so angry at everything, at everyone and at himself. He really wondered why no one ever left him alone.

"I'm _talking _to you, you know!" She appeared on his left, on the lower branches. Big blue eyes glaring fiercely, sneer on her lips. "Seriously; you're such a goddamn _asshole_. You're never going to change unless someone punches you in the face. I hope Forehead does it. I hope she breaks that pretty face of yours!"

Sasuke wondered what she was going on about.

He hadn't even opened his mouth.

Sai swung in between them, landing on a lower branch before skyrocketing to a higher one. He tilted his head, gloved hands holding on to the branch as he swung his body forwards, as he asked in genuine curiosity, "Is this what is called... Resent?"

"No, Sai, this is what is called putting a foot down!" Ino glared, white-blond hair whipping around her like a halo. "I'm not scared; are you going to try and kill me too, Sasuke? I mean, you tried to kill your entire team, surely some girl that crushed on you years ago won't be too hard."

Sasuke grit his teeth and clenched his jaw to keep from lashing out.

"You're not wearing the Alliance hitai-ate, Traitor," Sai observed, aloud, tone nonchalant and still ever so curious. "Are you defecting already?"

"You," Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth, seeing nothing but red even as he lunged at Sai, and not at all caring that they could fall to the ground and die, "need to either shut the fuck up, or die."

They landed on a rather thick and broad branch; it cracked just as soon as Sai's back met its surface. Sasuke gripped at the dark-green flak jacket with a vice like grip, planning over ten ways to destroy the idiot below him. On the branch little ways from where he and Sai were, Ino landed in a crouch, blue eyes staring at him an brow furrowed.

She sighed, standing up and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Let him go, Sasuke. You don't need another reason for Konoha not to trust you. Let's just get to the camp; Sai, baby, I know you're clueless but stop pissing him off and getting yourself in trouble. Oh my goddamn god, you two are going to be the death of me. HURRY UP!"

Sasuke glared and snarled at Sai one last time before shoving off him and taking off to the trees, again.


	10. know

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To me playing the Wii just as soon as I post this.

**notes: **Thanks for the reviews guys! And, to assure those that are terrified, there is, and won't be, nothing between Ino and Sasuke. It's platonic, at most. Just coz I like writing different things and Sasuke and Ino would make good friends, in my head. Stfu, my logic makes sense.

x

breathe_slow_

They sat around a fire, tension swallowing them whole.

Sasuke picked at the fire with a thick-thin branch, eyes glued on the red-orange-yellow-blue of the flames. Sasuke loved fire; he's loved it since he was a kid. It was, granted so much smaller and less important, one of the reasons why he had been so set on learning his clan's Fireball jutsu. It was nonexistent to the _real_ reason why he almost killed himself to learn the jutsu.

But, well... Sasuke didn't want to think about all that.

He poked and prodded at the flames, bolts of adrenaline running through his veins as the flames grew larger.

"We were going to kill you," Ino murmured, curled up on one of the three logs surrounding the fire. "Us... The nine of us. We were so set on it, too. We figured we'd stop you before it was too late. Shit like that, you know? I..." She grinned, bitterly, "I cried, when the decision was made. You were my friend, through it all; considered you as such even if _you_ didn't. But... I wasn't crying for you, for myself. It was because of Naruto and Sakura."

Sasuke was used to people trying to kill him all the time. Enemies, idiots, politically influenced people... All of them wanted him dead at some point, if not still. Which was why he didn't even flinch at what Ino said. Surprised, he was; but he was surprised because Konoha's rookies - his generation; his "friends" had been planning on killing him.

"Coz they still believe in you," Ino shrugged, blue eyes on the dancing flames. To her left, Sai remained quiet and sketched in a sketchbook. "I know even now they still do; Sakura just tries to hide it. Don't blame her since, you know, _you tried to kill her_." She looked up, then, a light glare in her eyes. "I don't get how you try to kill those close to you; admit it, they were close to you. What are you trying to _prove_?"

"Shut up," Sasuke said, voice low and hoarse. "Shut up, Yamanaka. You're _annoying_."

"So _are you_."

He looked up at her, a heavy glare in his eyes. "You don't know me."

"Maybe so,"she said, holding her chin up in defiance. "But Naruto and Sakura do."

Sasuke shook his head, deeming it impossible to talk to the loud blond, and settled back into picking at the fire.


	11. reliance

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To that sad, lonely feeling I'm feeling.

**notes: **I need a hug. And some friends. And a reversing-time-thing so I can be a little girl again. I'm gonna go wallow in self-pity over there, now.

x

breathe_slow_

"Genma-taichou said we must be very careful," Sai murmured as they arrived to the camp and passing the sensory shinobi keeping guard. His blank gray eyes darted from one side to the other and observing the Kumo-Konoha-Suna shinobis swarming around. "We may never know if the enemy is walking among us."

Sasuke spared him a glance through his forelocks and rolled his eyes. For all they knew, they already walked passed ten Zetsus in disguise.

Not that Sasuke cared.

"For all we know," Ino, in between the two dark boys, murmured back, "we just walked passed ten enemies in disguise."

The corners of Sasuke's lips twitched.

"Even more of a reason to keep our guards up," Sai said, blankly.

They walked until they found the tent where the camp's general was more than likely to have been stationed. Sai spread the flaps of the makeshift door apart and stepped inside, Sasuke and Ino soon following. The tent was very much similar to the one where Genma had briefed them in, if not a bit messier. Hovering over a map and muttering to himself was Sabaku Kankuro.

"Kankuro-san," Sai said, lightly bowing.

Kankuro looked up, dark teal eyes hooded with stress and anger and mistrust. "Sai, Ino... Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke controlled the urge to roll his eyes once again. And as per usual, he settled for crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking away. Now, now, what was the last that he had seen or heard of Sabaku Kankuro? It was that time at the Kage Summit, Sasuke mused, him and his siblings — Gaara, a kage, really — had tried to intervene with his quest to destroy Danzo.

(_And Gaara tried to speak to you, didn't he?_

_He tried to make you open your eyes; but you refused, didn't you? Just like always, aye, Sasuke?_

_Tsk, tsk._)

"Just in time," Kankuro muttered, taking his hitai-ate cap off and running his hands through his messy maroon hair. "We're sending a group to scout the forests. I'm sending you three in it."

Sai and Ino gave curt nods.

"And the other camps," Ino asked, tilting her head, "How are the other sectors doing?"

"South camp was just attacked by a hoard of 'em. Lotta injured shinobis; last I heard they were sending Haruno Sakura over there."

Ino's eyes narrowed, slightly, "But Sakura was sent to the East camp..."

"I believe she's being sent to every camp whenever its needed; Shizune's got her hands tied at the main medical camp; Sakura's our only hope for these cases." Kankuro placed his cap back on and nodded, "Right, so, freshen up and be prepared. Shit's crazy once you're out there."


	12. irony

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To my hair; coz I don't whip it back and forth. It's too pretty.

**notes: **THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE HUGS, YOU GUYS. Legit, its nice to know you guys care. Sadly, I'm still kind of down and its affecting my writing. Meaning I... may or may not be hitting a writer's block. But I'm gonna write a SakuKarin if it costs me my life. /pelvic-thrusts

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke wasn't stupid.

He knew everyone's eyes were on him. He knew it; he felt it; he felt the intensity of their glares prickle at his skin, almost unintentionally. He knew their entire attention was on him, as he walked by, stride slow and back straight and shoulders squared. Everything about them was on him.

He was the enemy, not so long ago.

He probably still was.

And he was walking among them; dressed in jounin attire, wearing the Alliance emblem on his back.

He was just like them, from afar.

Just another shinobi putting his life on the line for peace.

But he was Uchiha Sasuke, from up close. And Uchiha Sasuke was a rogue, wasn't he?

Sasuke smirked, ducking his head low enough to get his forelocks to shadow his face.

He was a rogue and he was, perhaps, the enemy.

(_You don't want to be the enemy, anymore, Sasuke. Come off it._

_You're tired. So, so, so tired. I can see it in your eyes. You look older than you really are; did you know you look like you're twenty-five and seen and heard everything needed for one life time?_

_You're seventeen._

_Give in. You don't want to be the enemy._)

Sasuke chuckled, darkly, to himself, shoving his hands in the pockets of his nin-pants.

He found it more than ironic how the murmurs of "The enemy could be walking among us" keeps being thrown to and fro. He had to wonder, sadistically, if they still meant Zetsu... Or him.


	13. attack

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Emily and Sonya, who came to my withdrawal's rescue. and to Selene and everyone else that gave me another hug. :)

**notes: **Bazinga~

x

breathe_slow_

"These forests are huge," Ino murmured, eyes squinted as they sped through the forest.

Sasuke's bloody-red eyes scanned the forest and subconsciously agreed. The trees were as large and as thick as the trees in the forest surrounding Konoha, if not completely bigger. And there were thousands of them, each bigger and thicker than the last. The three of them sprinted down on the grounds, jumping over fallen branches and catching momentum by swinging on the lower branches.

They hadn't been surprised that, once at the heart of the forest, the scouting team had been split up; and they'd been less surprised that they'd been teamed up, again.

Actually, Sasuke had swallowed his annoyance.

But, then again, Sasuke'd been doing that, a lot, ever since that fucking Hokage had got him into this mess. He was, at this point, just waiting to snap.

"How the hell are we going to spot them, anyway," Ino continued on, a bit louder. "They're not going to be in plain sight, are they?"

Had Sasuke been anyone else, he'd release the confirmed fact that Zetsus can disguise themselves within their surroundings. Like a bunch of fucking chameleons.

But, Sasuke said to himself in feigned disappointment, as shinobi that have fought the war, they should know that by now. Unless they were ignorant, which Sasuke wouldn't be surprised of. But then again, Sasuke mused, entertaining his thoughts for once, he _could_ just be biased... He _did_ despise Konoha and anything that had to do with it, after all.

"Either way," she went on, "we're giving off our presence with—"

And then something like a startled shriek escaped passed Ino's lips as a blur lunged at her and, given her speed, caused her to crash into one of the trees and actually split it in half. Splinters and dirt fogged the place up as Ino coughed and hacked, trying to sit up.

Sasuke stood and watched, blankly, as Ino, bleeding from the corner of her lips and the material of her nin-top's right sleeve ripped and matted with blood, sat up and tried to look around for the source of attack... And a white Zetsu slowly oozed into materialization from the top half of the broken tree, his beady gold eyes on Ino.


	14. waver

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To my mommy, coz she stayed up and waited for me to come home.

**notes: **Huh. That, in fact, answered my question. Anyway. I'm gonna go play in the Fairy Tail and Bleach fandoms, now. Wheeee~

x

breathe_slow_

There was an ink tiger fighting with the white Zetsu.

And Sai.

An ink tiger and Sai were fighting the white Zetsu while Ino's right hand glowed violet and she attempted to heal her injuries; the crack of the bone, as she realigned her arm back into place, still resounded in the forest, Sasuke was more than positive.

And he just stood there, blank and most probably frozen, watching everything through hooded blood-red eyes.

This was... yet another crossroad he must decide upon, he concluded. It was the only reason why he was so frozen in place; the other, being that he just didn't really care what happened to them. But them that just brought out the whole 'crossroad' notion; did he care?

Did he care if Zetsu killed his current teammates?

(_Would you stop prolonging it?_

_Admit it, you do care. You care a lot. Go help them, you know you want to. Why are you always making things harder on yourself._

_You're such a difficult person, Sasuke. _

_You should go help before something happens._)

But Sasuke just stood there and watched._  
><em>


	15. anger

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To my soda. And sleep. And frappes!

**notes: **I'm going to subway, right now. Just sayin'. ALSO... Input time: add a chapter or two in Sakura's perspective? Yes/No?

x

breathe_slow_

"You _ASSHOLE_!"

Silent tears of pure anger were streaming down her dirt-soiled cheeks as she stalked over to him and punched him.

Sasuke didn't really do anything but lightly stumble, for being caught off guard. To the side, Sai watched with a blank expression on his face, ink-black hair hooding his eyes as he looked down at his weapons. Ino, for the most part, was beyond pissed and was taking her anger out by continuously punching Sasuke on his chest.

"What the hell is your _problem_," she screeched, aiming another punch, and completely ignoring how futile they were. "You just stood there and watched us almost get our asses handed to us! We're your _goddamn_ teammates, Sasuke! You're supposed to fucking help us, not just stand there and watch! I... I... You're a _monster_."

She sobered up for a second and glared at him with angry blue eyes.

"You're a goddamn monster and you're only a monster because you choose to be. Who are you trying to fucking prove yourself to? _What_ are you trying to prove? That you're an asshole? Coz that's been fucking proven for the past ten years!" Glare still intact, she punched him again, sobbing from unadulterated anger_. _

"You know," she hissed through her teeth, "Part of growing up — _really _growing up — is letting things go. Deal with them rationally. You... You're still stuck in the _past_—"

Sasuke caught her last punch, his grip tightening around her wrists as he spun them around and he slammed her against the trunk of a tree. "You know _nothing_," he sneered, red eyes glinting behind his forelocks, the tomoes of his Sharingan spinning. "You don't know _anything_ so stop fucking talking like you _do_."

"I know you're a fucking _coward_," Ino spat right back. "I told you once, I'm not fucking scared of you! If you'd wanted to kill me, you'd already done so in a heartbeat, but here I fucking am. Just proof that you're a coward and you're all bark but no fucking bite. Same goes with Naruto and Sakura — oh! Look there, I'm bringing them back up to the surface. And you just _hate_ that don't you, Sasuke?

"But I bet you don't hate it as much as you hate knowing that I'm fucking right. Because you've attempted to kill your entire team - Team _Seven_ - and you've never succeeded. And guess what," she growled, panting for air, "You never _will_._"_

Through it all, Sai continued to watch, blankly, but more alert. What were the chances that Uchiha would slide his hands up to Ino's throat and prove her wrong, Sai wondered.

"_Shut up_," Sasuke roared, his voice rising as was his rage. "Shut up, Yamanaka, you don't know _shit_! I don't have to prove _shit _to you." And then his voice lowered, "But I'd kill you. I'd _fucking_ kill you, if I wanted to, right here, right now."

(_But you don't. So you won't._

_And you never will._

_She's right, Sasuke... Who and what are you trying to prove?_

_Let it go... Let it go... Let it go..._)

Ino stared at him, her glare relaxing, as if all the fight within her was lost. "You know that's not true. You say I don't know you... But I do. To an extent. And I know, at some point — maybe even now, still — you were a decent shinobi with morals. How... Can I — _anyone_ — make you see that? Let alone make you see that we still care." Tears welled up in her eyes as she hissed, "I'm literally terrified of what's going to happen to you... But mostly, I'm terrified of how it'll affect Naruto... And Sakura."

Sasuke ripped himself away from her, as if her skin on his burned to the touch, and stared at her blankly and coldly for a moment before he fled._  
><em>


	16. catharsis

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To rice crispy treats. And soda. And the anonymous reviewer going by _narutofan_. And to Sonya and Sara. The world isn't ready for us, ladies. ;D

**notes: **Ohhi! I am most definitely feeling a lot better than the past two weeks. And I was actually able to take a nap, today! :) Also, thank you **a lot** for the feedback. ;D And special thanks to my wifey for helping me with this chapter title. Do me now.

x

breathe_slow_

Nothing she said was true.

She didn't know anything.

She didn't know _him_.

She didn't know that he'd only let them live off of a whim. She didn't know that the last time they all met, he was dead set on killing them. She didn't know that when he had his hand wrapped around Sakura's throat, he was preparing to shatter it. She didn't know that he was going to kill them all. Including her.

Ino didn't know anything.

He wasn't a coward.

He didn't know what he was but he was not a coward.

He was everything _but_ a coward.

She didn't know _anything_.

Sasuke was raging as he sped through the forest, Sharingan eyes narrowed into narrow slits as he stared at the distance. He didn't know where the hell he was going. And it was most probably going to get him in deep shit. But Sasuke didn't care.

He didn't care because, _fuck_, he should have killed her.

He should have _fucking_ killed her.

(_But you didn't, Sasuke._

_You didn't. You didn't let yourself because you didn't want to._

_She's your friend. You still have friends, you know. They're still there._

_You don't want to hurt them. You just want peace of mind now, don't you._

_Let them help you. They're your friends. You're okay. You won't be a coward._

_Please, Sasuke. Please stop. Stop hurting yourself._)

And so he stopped.


	17. admit

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To... The beautiful reviews I received. You guys are amazing, have my vagina.

**notes: **Bazinga~

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke stood there, in the middle of the enormous forest, fists clenched at his sides, forelocks hooding his eyes as he glared down at the dirt ground.

He stood still and rigid as he admitted something to himself and only himself.

He was tired.

He was tired and he was driven by impulsion and rage and resent and it clouded him. It clouded his judgement, his mind and his heart and, he knew, that was never going to change. He would always be impulsive and make stupid decisions and be resentful and be filled with anger that boiled his blood.

Sasuke hated Konoha.

He hated their lies, their deception, their corruption and just _them_. He hated them for what they did to him and his family. For what they did to Itachi... Oh, how he abhorred them for what they did to Itachi. It was a hate so pure and choking and demanding... He couldn't let anything go — not the past, not the present. He needed... He needed revenge.

He needed them gone.

He needed them to pay.

Now, he will also admit, wiping out the entire village would be redundant; the people were clueless as he had been, anyway. It was _them_, the Village Elders, that he needed to kill. _They _needed to be killed.

And yet...

And yet his anger still clouded him, because he knew no other way of going on. And it was going to stay that—

Sasuke's train of thoughts were cut off at the familiar chakra rising up. He turned his head towards the direction he had been running away from and stared, blankly, as the chakras continued to rise.

It was Ino and Sai.

...And they were being attacked, weren't they.

Sasuke turned to face the direction towards them, wholly, and paused.

(_Go on, you moron._

_Redemption takes time. And this is only the beginning._

_Everyone gets their serving, remember that, Sasuke. Their time will come. _

_This is yours._

_So stop being stupid and go do something right for once in your life._)

Glaring and the commas of his Sharingan spinning, Sasuke took off into the trees.


	18. raid

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To the French toast I am eating. And to Jenny for reviewing the past chapters and being amusing. ;D

**notes: **Ew, I hate work. And I'm eating ramen, right now. Just sayin'. Also, I am sleeping again! I think. I hate insomnia. :/ Also, pay close attention to this chapter. It be reference to something in the very near future. ;)

x

breathe_slow_

The piercing, numbing shriek of a thousand birds caused the forest life to pause as Sasuke lunged down from a branch and slammed onto a white Zetsu that was going to attack Ino as she had her back turned and tried to heal Sai.

Sasuke stood over the dead Zetsu and spared it a glance, his eyes inking black.

Other than the Zetsu he'd just killed, there was nothing more. They must have taken care of everything, Sasuke mused, turning around and staring at Ino and Sai, blankly.

She turned to look at him from over her shoulder, a small grimace of a smile on her lips. "Thanks, that... I should have been more alert."

Sasuke didn't say anything but turned his eyes to Sai.

"He's okay," she said, standing up and helping Sai up, "It was a... deep gash, that's all." She wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and slid an arm around his back.

Sai looked up at him with a blank expression, save for the wide, crooked smile on his lips, and said, "We should head back to the camp."

Sasuke furrowed his brow and then shrugged a shoulder, sparing Ino another glance and... She was smiling at him. Big and wide and crooked. Why... was she smiling at him... After all the things she said and her anger and... Sasuke shook his head.

From the time he'd spent on a team with Sakura, and on another team with Karin, he figured out that females were weird and no one would ever understand them.

So he hardened his eyes and took off, ignoring how Sai and Ino let him lead them back to camp.

It was quiet, as they ran; Ino said nothing at him - no jibe, no hiss, no rant, no anger. And Sai was just as quiet, not cluelessly saying something stupid and offensive and making Sasuke want to kill him more than he already did. It was just... Quiet.

Sasuke was torn between liking the quiet or wondering if something was off.

When they arrived to the camp... It was in chaos.

An attack, Sasuke told himself, quietly, as the three slowly maneuvered themselves around the frantic shinobi and the dead and the injured and the angry. They walked towards Kankuro's tent, their eyes speculating and observing and... Sasuke stepped over a fallen body. He was dead, Sasuke noted, and looked up as they entered Kankuro's tent.

He looked absolutely enraged, with cuts and bruises littering his body and his uniform dirty and torn and matted with blood. He looked up at them, running a hand through his hair and blew air out through his mouth. "I need you two," he said, pointing to Ino and Sai, "to meet Haruno Sakura halfway. She's on her way over here and... the Zetsus are multiplying. As you can see, we've been fucking attacked; we can't afford to lose Sakura."

Sasuke stared as Ino and Sai nodded their heads and turned to leave the tent.

"You," Kankuro went on, his dark teal eyes on Sasuke, "I need you here. I need backup while we try to fix this shit."


	19. realize

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To the three days off I am going to get starting tomorrow. Babies, I needed you. Also, to the plan of GTA and Ball Pit Bazinga Tag.

**notes: **T_T No one got the reference. Sadness pours out of my pores. But, haha, here's the chapter. Bet you're all gonna be like "WUT" and go double read the last one.

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke was in the process of moving a tree from its position, toppled over a tent, when something strange happened.

A shinobi... A _shinobi_ wearing the Alliance gear and the jounin attire... _Attacked_ another shinobi. Threw himself on him and just... Attacked.

Sasuke stopped and stared, curious and just slightly confused. It wasn't until other shinobi ran to assist the one being attacked that it hit him. The attacking ninja was... Not the ninja he was supposed to be, was he? He was... He was Zetsu.

There was a disguised Zetsu attacking.

But what was confusing him, just a bit, he decided, watching as they fought against the Zetsu, was that... Not long ago... Oh, fuck.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

How goddamn stupid could he be; so into his thoughts, he hadn't been really paying attention. _Of course_ this man wasn't who he was supposed to be; he had _smiled_ at Sasuke. Big and wide and crooked. No one smiled at Sasuke - he was a traitor.

"Wait," he hissed to himself.

A big and wide and crooked smile.

Ino had smiled at him like that.

As had Sai...

Well, Sai smiles at everyone like that but... Ino... _smiled_ at him. Ino had been furious with him since the day they had been teamed up.

"_Fuck_," Sasuke hissed before abandoning his task and sprinting out of camp.

It was instinct. And it completely blocked how he was off to save Haruno Sakura.

(_Just like before, Sasuke._)


	20. tension

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Lady Gaga. Coz I love her so much.

**notes: **I'm wearing a Batman shirt, right now. I'm cooler than you by default. ;) Also, eatin' yogurt and drinking soda. Obviously only I do such a combo. =_= Also, I don't like this chapter. :)

x

breathe_slow_

He was in the process of leaping towards another branch when something came flying at him.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and waited for the impact; this is why he hated moving so fast, sometimes; the momentum gave him little to no chance to move out of the way, when he needed to. And when it did, it usually involved getting hurt one way or another.

He collided with the body and as he was knocked off the tree and moved around in the air to brace his fall, he noticed that it was Ino the one that had just soared across the air.

In a blink of an eye, she turned into a white Zetsu.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and, by instinct, made to grab the hilt of his sword. Only, there was no sword there and Sasuke cursed under his breath and slowly began to get in an awful mood. Annoyed, he quickly made the seals for his Chidori and slammed his electrifying hand against Zetsu.

Sai came flying after that, and behind him a blur of pink and green.

Sasuke looked up as Sakura continuously punched Zetsu until he was nothing but putty on the ground.

She looked up at him, then, green eyes hard.

Nothing was said between them, as they both stood and looked around the forest. The real Ino and Sai were most probably unconscious, here, somewhere. It didn't help that it was rapidly going dark. Once nightfall came, they'd be exposed to danger and the inability to travel back to the west camp.

Sasuke's eyes bled red as he darted his eyes from one place to the other.

A second later, he sped off towards a certain direction. Sakura was quick to follow him, making her attempts to keep up with his speed.

The distance between them wasn't doing a very good job in hiding any of the negative feelings swirling between them, though.


	21. nickname

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To just hanging out and smiling for no reason.

**notes: **...I should _really_ get to writing for SasuSaku_Month and quit messing around with NaruKarin and SakuKarin and _this_ beautiful baby... But... This is me. I leave everything for the last minute. Also, I have a cupcake ring. Its so adorable.

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke leaned his back against one of the never-ending trees, arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched Sakura crouch down in front of a very unconscious Ino and a just as unconscious Sai.

They'd been dumped not too far from where Sasuke had found their white Zetsu counterparts and, had Sasuke not been so absorbed in his thoughts (something which he _abhorred_), he would have noticed their slow and steady and low chakra signature. It annoyed him that he missed it all and it annoyed him more that he had to go through all this trouble as repercussion.

"Waaah," Ino groaned, slowly sitting up and bringing a hand to hold her head. In a flash, her grogginess disappeared and her blue eyes snapped open as she stood up and got in a defensive position. "What the _hell_!"

"Quit it, Ino," Sakura hissed, standing up and placing gloved hands on Ino's wrists, lowering the fists down. "It's okay now."

Ino's piercing eyes snapped to Sakura and she slowly began to relax, just as Sai stood up, without a sound. "We were attacked after—"

Her eyes snapped towards Sasuke, and his jaw clenched taut, his eyes hardening as he fought with himself in making the decision of looking away or meeting her stare head on. The former beat the latter and Sasuke turned away, settling to staring at nothing in particular, his annoyance only rising.

"Well," Ino cleared her throat, "we were attacked and then... Nothing."

Sakura nodded her head, "Yeah, white Zetsus seemed to have worked their charm on you two. They were even kind enough to meet me in the middle of the forest."

Sai tilted his head, bleary dark eyes filled with genuine curiosity, "And how did you tell them off, Ugly?"

Yes, Sasuke mused to himself, ignoring the fact that he was just as curious, how _did_ Sakura realize that she was being accompanied by Zetsus.

Sakura shrugged a shoulder, placing her hands on her hips. "They were stupid enough to call me by my actual name."

Grinning, Ino wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulder and let a series of giggles out. "See, Forehead, told you the nickname would come in handy."

"_That_," Sakura hissed, elbowing Ino off of her, "and, not to sound cocky at _all_, I have dealt with a white Zetsu passing off as a comrade of mine. They're sneaky little fuckers but they mess up; you just have to be careful and catch it."

Sai cracked the kinks out of his neck and began to slowly walk as a means to suggest they should move on. "Yes," he murmured thoughtfully, passing Sasuke. "Let us hope they don't become smart enough to perfect their acts."


	22. gratitude

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To absolutely nothing.

**notes: **Bazinga~

x

breathe_slow_

"...Sasuke..?"

They were sitting around the fire. Sakura was inspecting Sai and patching him up (it took a while for Sasuke to actually remember that the Ino patching Sai up were Zetsus acting a roll), and Ino... Had just slid down close to him and whispered for his attention.

Sasuke was rigid.

He was uncomfortable and rigid and annoyed and all of that plus so much more was blending and swirling into anger. He wouldn't be surprised if he began to lash out, again, soon.

"Listen," Ino whispered, her blue eyes on the flames, "I... Look, I'm sorry." Her voice was low and, given that Sakura was now scolding and arguing with Sai, only he could hear her. "I don't regret saying what I did, but... I apologize for how I said it... And..."

Sasuke's jaw tensed.

"Thank you," she breathed out. "Because... I don't know what happened, but... You came here. You tried to save us, didn't you?"

"No."

Ino looked away to hide her knowing grin. "Just... Thank you." She turned to him, briefly, before scooting back to her place, "I hope this is you redeeming yourself, rather than a one-shot attempt." Her eyes snapped to Sakura and she raised an eyebrow.

His jaw was clenched taut and he detached himself from their current state; the hisses of Sakura arguing with Sai and Ino defending him and Sai completely lost were lost in his ears as Sasuke decided that he didn't want anything to do with his former teammate.

He was still angry; still fickle as the sky.

But he wasn't ready – and, somewhere inside him, he knew he wished not to – to deal with his former teammates.


	23. acquaintance

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To the Twix pack I have sitting in front of me. And my box of Rice Krispies that my mom bought me, yesterday. YAAAAY FOR JUNK FOOD.

**notes: **Thank you so much for the support, babies! You make my nana tingle (I'm becoming more obscene with each passing day. I love myself). I missed writing this. I miss Sasuke and his indecisions. Also! I like waffles. :)

x

breathe_slow_

It shouldn't have been this long to fix up camp.

Tents - that's all they had. Tents - they just needed to fix those, right? But Sasuke found himself lifting trees and more trees off of more bodies and more tents. It was annoying and sickening, at the same time. And, he supposed, they needed to fix the border surrounding the camp, as well.

That only caused his annoyance to bump up a notch.

"Hey."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and lifted a log up to his bare shoulder, prepared to take it to the pile.

It was scorching, out. As if he were in Konoha or Suna, rather than at the outskirts of Iwa. Hot as it may be, Iwa stood no chance against Suna, but here Sasuke was, skin glistening with a blanket of sweat and top half of his body bare of his Jounin-Alliance gear.

"What do you want, Yamanaka."

Ino made a show to pick up a small branch, forking it onto the dirt ground and using it as a weight-supporter. Her blue eyes watched, boredly, as Sasuke swung the log to rest with its kind. "Came to see how you were doing, of course. God, a girl can't be nice these days, huh?"

Sasuke scoffed. "You? Nice? You bite anyone's head off."

"Not true!" Ino looked scandalized, eyes growing wide before narrowing down. "Just yours, and that's only coz you're as stubborn as a mule."

He paused, for a second and turned to spare her a glance. "You didn't seem to have a problem with that, before."

"Oh, please." Ino scoffed and threw the branch towards the logs. "I was young and stupid to ever have a crush on _you_."

"Hn."

"Ah!" She pointed a finger at him, blond hair flying everywhere as she bent forwards, towards him. "The infamous grunt. Am I seeing the old Sasuke in the flesh?"

"Fuck off, Yamanaka."

Sasuke shook his head. Leave it to someone like Ino to rib flesh open and shove salt on it until it became unbearable... And then act like it never happened. Sasuke was never going to understand these things. He made for another log, and sighed.

(_Admit it, you like the teasing._

_It makes you feel okay._)

"Anyway," she went on, making an attempt to move a tree, not too far from Sasuke's location. "Why haven't you talked to Forehead?"

Sasuke paused, again, and glared. "What?"

Ino turned towards him, her only visible eyebrow rising. "She's in the newly established medical tent."

"I don't _care."_

"Oh, boy," Ino sighed, rolling her eyes. "Not this again."

Sasuke crossed his arms in front of his bare chest, glaring at her through his forelocks. "What the hell do you _want_?"

She shrugged a shoulder and hid her hands behind her, a pose Sasuke has seen time and time again, before. "For you to feel better."

"Nothing's wrong with me, Yamanaka." He outstretched his hands at his sides. "You can leave now."

Ino pursed her lips and shook her head; she looked annoyed, Sasuke decided. But he didn't really mind, at all. He didn't have _any_ intentions of speaking to Sakura. It's why he was out here, picking up logs and trees, than anywhere near the medical tent.

Sasuke shook his head and continued on with his task._  
><em>


	24. accusation

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To my older cousin, who's keeping me company. Also, to my party animal of a coworker who is ridiculous. xD And Sara. Coz I love her and she owns everything that is me.

**notes: **I found something disgusting in my parents' room. I don't wish to talk about it. I hate everything. Also; my little sister keeps txting me from, like, Central America. I wish she'd realize there's a time difference. T_T And, lastly, hiii. ;)

x

breathe_slow_

"Oi, Uchiha!"

Sasuke had the distinct urge to just cringe and disappear. Kankuro was out helping as much as he could, with a broken arm - the man was reluctant to have Sakura fix it, stating that she fix those in worse condition was far more important.

But. Well.

That also made the man somewhat useless.

Sasuke slowly turned to face the general of the west base with carefully blank eyes.

Kankuro was crouching in next to someone, on the ground, his eyes concentrating to catch any form of breathing, Sasuke supposed. Some sort of sign of life.

Sighing, Sasuke picked up his dark shirt and his flak jacket, sliding them both on as he walked towards Kankuro. "What."

Kankuro spared him a glance and then nudged his chin down to the man on the ground. "Take him to the medical tent. And tell Sakura he needs immediate attention."

Sasuke almost twitched at the orders. And, he was positive, that if he looked up from his glaring at the wounded man, he'd most likely catch Ino smirking at him and Sai, close by, staring with that fucking hideous blank expression of his. It made Sasuke's blood begin to boil.

"Well," Kankuro barked. "Hurry it up!"

He said nothing as he gingerly picked the man up from the ground and slung him over his shoulder, turning around and searching for the medical tent. Once found, Sasuke began to make his way to the tent. Carefully, he blanked his mind and his expression because, he had to face it, it was for the best.

When he got to the tent, it was filled with patients lying in makeshift beds, in rows. Some where awake, just staring at the tent's roof or silently talking to the others. Others, were unconscious and very well fighting to wake up. Sasuke looked straight ahead as he walked to the very back, where an empty bed, makeshift, like the others, laid. He bent forwards and slowly laid the man on it.

He stared down at him for a second before looking around at the utensils; gauze and other such.

"What are you doing here," someone said.

As Sasuke slowly turned to face them, he decided that the tone was too forcefully indifferent to even be considered at such.

Sakura did always fail to control and hide her emotions.

Ah, anger, he mused.

Sasuke nudged his chin to the man on the makeshift bed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his nin-pants. "Kankuro sent him."

Sakura was staring at him with green eyes that were as carefully blanked as his. She turned to face the man for a second before turning back to Sasuke, a thin eyebrow raised. "Okay. Thank you. You can leave."

"He said," Sasuke went on, as if she had not spoken. "He needs immediate attention."

"Okay."

Sasuke grunted and made to leave.

He paused when he heard her mutter something under her breath. It was something like impulsion - something he seemed to be working by, a lot - and anger that made him turn to look at her and hiss, "What."

Sakura looked up at him from her crouched position, lips barely parted. She swiped at some of her pink bangs. "I said _asshole_."

"I see," Sasuke fought his haughty smirk. "I don't think this unconscious man would appreciate that."

Sasuke greeted tension and anger with open arms as Sakura slowly stood back up, a glare in her eyes. "Don't play the smartass _now_, Uchiha Sasuke. Where was the smartass when he went ahead and left with Madara?"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Sasuke hissed."Shut _up_."

"You _tried to kill me_," Sakura shrieked in a quiet hiss. "_Twice_."

"You tried to kill me _first_," Sasuke growled back. He felt his anger rising and, oh, this was why he was trying to stay the hell away from her. "You came at me at that fucking bridge with one goal; I'm not fucking stupid, Sakura. Self defense."

Sakura stalked up to him until they were inches apart. "That's bullshit."

"As was your attempt."

"Leave."

Sasuke smirked, then.

"Get _out_!"

"You don't have to fucking tell _me_ twice," he spat, smirk still on his lips and venomous glare in his eyes. He turned around and left the tent.


	25. bothered

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To _A Girl Named Blessed_ and _The 8th Stone _for their amazing and smile-inducing reviews, to Demi for her amazing writing, and to the fact that I finally caught up with Bleach, again.

**notes: **Surprisingly, I have nothing to say. My sister txt'd me at four in the morning; I promised her death when she arrived back from her vacation. Also. I'm ordering pizza, again, tomorrow. NOM NOM NOM. OH WAIT I REMEMBERED: I'm rather surprised you guys liked Sasuke's wit, last chapter. I actually thought I was gonna get rants of him being an asshole; totally got ready to bitch people out. :D _Also_, as you saw last chapter, there's a lot of anger swirling between those two; now you know why your precious SasuSaku fluff is absent. This is Les, keeping it real since 1991.

x

breathe_slow_

Ino approached him cautiously.

From his peripheral vision, he saw her step towards him, quietly, a hand curled and resting on her chest, while the other one tried to move her bangs away from her blue eyes. Her eyebrows were scrunched with something like worry and curiousness, lips weighed down in a frown.

Sasuke brittled up as she neared him; his migraine and his anger freezing for approximately a second before it reached its peak.

"Hey," she asked, quietly and almost uncertainly.

Sasuke did not respond as he prepared to fix a tent.

His eyes were dead set on the monochromatic coloring of the tent's fabric; catching every grain of dirt, every tiny splatter of blood that it was coated with. His jaw twitched in exhaustion of his abusive clenching. Sasuke was more angry with himself than anything.

He hated being affected by something he was more than positive did not bother him.

(_But if it bothers you, than it's important, right, silly?_

_So what happened was important. It's bothering you._

_It's important._

_And if it's important, and left the way it is_—)

Sasuke inwardly shook his head and shut the voice up. He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear anything.

"...Sasuke?"

"What do you want, Ino," his voice was like granite on her skin.

She grinned and let a small laugh out.

Sasuke, incredulous, paused what he was doing and settled his steely gaze on her. "What."

"You called me Ino."

"That's you name, isn't it," he grunted.

"Of course it is," she said, tucking her bangs behind her ears. They fell over her eye, again. "But you usually call me 'Yamanaka'." She shook her head and crouched down in front of him, blue eyes caught in the trance of his hands at work. "But anyway... What's wrong?"

He didn't respond.

No one's ever tried to talk to him the way Ino does. Not a _girl_ anyway. Sure, Sakura had tried; but Sasuke had already been too lost in the dark, bloody corners of his mind to have ever really noticed. But... What he remembered were girls always seeking his attention; wishing for something Sasuke didn't really care about, then, or now. He remembered Sakura and Ino herself being like that. He remembered Karin being exactly like them, as well.

But... Now... As his mind was slowly, and inconsistently, was slowing down and trying to be rational and... _normal_... Only Ino'd really tried to... befriend him.

Because that's what she was trying to do, right?

"Why does it matter to you," he asked, voice blank.

He made sure to watch her from the corner of his eyes.

She shrugged, fingering the dirt and staring at how it soiled her hand. "Because I'm your friend." She looked up at him. "Or I'm trying to be. You make it rather hard; your fickle, Sasuke. Like the autumn skies; they change, a lot. Its either one thing or the other, but never consistent. That's how you are. I had to be an utter bitch to get you to _listen_, and even then I'm not sure if you heard. And if you did, who knows for how long my words will ring.

"You like it rough," her lips twitched at the accidental innuendo, "people have to be rough and hard to get your attention. I'm your friend, Sasuke. That's all I'm trying to do; be your friend. You're not as alone as you consider yourself to be. Its just that you make it hard on yourself to let everyone in." Ino stared at him, facial expression calm and placid. "So what's wrong."

Sasuke stared, unblinkingly down at the ground, her words swiveling in his head. Being hard and blocking everyone from coming in... He knew he did that; it was a personal favorite of his traits. It was so easy to be that; so easy to hate and resent and block and ignore.

It was hard to be the opposite.

His eyes hardened, out of habit.

"Just—"

"Sakura?" Ino was grinning at him mischievously. "Forehead's amazing at holding grudges... Well, actually she's not. She's just pretty hurt. And pissed. She'll come around and we can all be peachy, again!"


	26. departure

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To: _crazymel2008, Itoe-chan, Just Lovely., seleneswan, Pinkish-Bluish, anticollision, ForeverPink27, PockyPaint, Shikaaras girl, love-is-forever-15, A Girl Named Blessed, why just the other day, _and especially to _Omolara. _Thank you guys so much. :)

**notes: **Can I get a little Goose with my OJ?

breathe_slow_

Some time passed, Sasuke figured.

When you're out at war, time is the least of your worries, he decided. But, he figured some time passed; a week, maybe. The west camp was back to its gritty glory; shinobi were saved. Others were buried and acknowledged as strong, courageous men and women.

Sasuke stood in the back as Ino and Sai bid Sakura goodbye.

With everything back up and running, Sakura was to migrate to the next camp to help those that were in need; her escorts were already waiting for her by the entrance of the camp. Ino had been outraged at Kankuro for not allowing her and Sai ("And Sasuke!") to escort her away; but Kankuro had been dead set in telling her it was for the best.

Sasuke figured he was sending them to another scouting round, in the forests.

"Be safe, okay," Ino said, sniffling. And then she whispered something else, to Sakura, that Sasuke wasn't able to catch from his location.

Sai patted her shoulder and said, "Be sure to give my regards to Naruto. Let him know I still think he has a small penis."

"Not to mention," Ino said grinning sloppily, "That we've been out here for two weeks now and those Zetsus are still out there. So Like him to preach and not do shit."

Sakura threw her head back and laughed, smacking them both in the arm, rather playfully. "Leave him alone, he's probably cleansing the northern camp and making his way down." She rolled her eyes and flapped a hand in the air. "You know how he likes to show up at the last minute. Anyway... I'm leaving, now. See you guys, soon, okay?"

"Forehead!"

Sakura paused from walking away from them and looked at Ino over her shoulder, green eyes wary.

"Remember what I said." But, given how Ino's back was facing Sasuke, he wasn't able to see her expression.

What he did see, though, was Sakura turn to look at him, eyes still ever wary. Their eyes locked for a brief moment and it was like an electrical current of tension and anger and deceit and hurt going off from one end to the other. They hadn't talked since the last explosion of rage that happened between them; hadn't even looked at each other when in the same location. Having her leave was like Sasuke being able to breathe again, and able to admit it.

He stared right back at her and raised an eyebrow, for show. Sakura pressed her lips together tightly and looked away, then, and left.

Sasuke simply swallowed thickly and turned away just as Sai and Ino made to walk towards him. Soon, they were to head for the forests and continue on with their task.

(_And you're going to prove her wrong, right?_

_You're going to show her you're not what she thinks you are, right? Remember what she thinks of you._

_She's wrong - prove it to her, Sasuke._)_  
><em>


	27. fight

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To money honey. And Blink. Forever Blink.

**notes: **Y U NO KNOCK? (If I could just grab all of you and stick you in my head, when it comes to my action scenes T_T they look so much better in my head, rather than how I write them.)

x

breathe_slow_

In a thick blur, divided into three, Sasuke, Ino and Sai pressed themselves against the trunks of trees surrounding a clearing.

They spread out, against their location and the bark of the trees bit at their skins, through the material of their nin-shirts. They tried to breathe slow and low, their eyes darting from one place to the other, alert as ever. They were in the forests and in the danger zone; for all they knew, Sasuke mused, and ignored the idea of déjà vu, Zetsus were hiding, camouflaged, and surrounding them.

Only, this time the three of them were more prepared.

There was little to no fighting, and unlike the last time, they wore headsets to keep close tabs on each other.

Sasuke looked over the tree he was pressed against, brows scrunched up, ever so, as he looked around. Sai was closest to him, he noticed; he was... About seven trees away from him and looking around, as well. Sasuke decided, as he turned to look towards Ino's location, that it was too quiet, in the forest; wildlife was quiet and nonexistent — not a bird chirping, not a bug humming.

He turned back to face the front, prepared to lock eyes with more trees and shrubs.

But...

He hadn't expected to see a fucking Zetsu standing right before him and on the verge of attacking.

"Shit," Sasuke hissed, throwing himself on the ground and dodging any kind of contact the white Zetsu would try to make.

"_Sasuke,_" He heard Ino's frantic hisses, _"Shit — **Sai**, Sasuke's getting attacked! Let's go!"_

_"Yes—"_

But once they emerged from their locations, in the middle of the clearing where Sasuke was deflecting and dodging the Zetsu, Sai was cut off by the intake of breath that he took in order to keep calm.

Because in the clearing, dozens and hundreds of Zetsus; white and black.

"Oh my _god_," Ino breathed out, blue eyes growing wide and hands blindly going to her weapons' pouch.

Sasuke, still dodging, turned, quickly, to look at what was going on. His eyes grew wide, for a fraction of a second, before he was sent skyrocketing in the air, to hit a tree, by a Wood Release technique. After the impact, and with splinters still flying, Sasuke stood back up and wiped blood from his mouth, Sharingan wheels spinning to match his anger.

"Fuck it," he hissed to his teammates, "We're going to have to fight them."

Sai and Ino nodded, getting ready to attack. It was unspoken, but it was clear that they were to watch each other's back as first priority.


	28. proof

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Sara; coz people ask her if we're really dating but never ask me. :')

**notes: **PLEASE STAY HERE TONIGHT PROMISE ME YOU WON'T LEAVE MY SIDE.

x

breathe_slow_

They were gasping; gulping for air; sucking in as much as they possibly could, with their lungs inflating and deflating at a fast tempo.

They stood over the dozens of Zetsus; crouched or slumped or pressed against a tree for support. They were bloody and hurt and bruised and dirty. Sasuke crouched in the center of the mass, lips barely parted to take in as much air as he greedily could. Blood was caked on the side of his lip, on his cheek, on his forehead, on his arms, on his fingers - everywhere. Bits of splinters stuck out, here and there and his Alliance gear was dirty and torn.

His Sharingan continued to spin, as he stared at the soiled ground, listening to Sai's and Ino's attempts to regain their breaths.

The ground started to rumble, then.

"_Now_ what," Ino breathed out, annoyed and angry.

The three looked up as all the white Zetsus slowly, but surely began to turn into trees.

"Oh _c'mon_," Ino continued on, dropping to the ground and stretching her limbs to examine herself.

In a matter of minutes, there were about fifteen new trees added to the forest, to replace the ones that tumbled down during the brawl. Sasuke ran a dirty hand through his hair and took an intake of breath. "They have some of the First's genes."

Sai and Ino looked up.

"It's why they can use Wood Release."

"Ah," Sai gave a curt nod, messy dark hair falling over his eyes. "That would explain a lot; it makes sense, too. They could turn parts of their body into wood, to attack; it's only natural that, dead, they'd completely turn into trees."

"Weren't they Venus Fly Traps," Ino asked, distractedly. She then shrugged, crawling towards Sai, who was closest, "Whatever; let's just... rest and get fixed so we can move on."

It went quiet, save fore their uneven breathing, as Ino began to heal the more fatal wounds that they had. Sasuke swallowed, thickly, as he relished in the fact that... That had been teamwork, hadn't it? The three had remained close to each other; danced around each other and fought; turning back and forth, left and right, to take down any sneaky Zetsu that tried to attack them from behind.

That was teamwork.

(_And how does it feel?_

_Do you feel... Like you used to? When you tried to protect your team, as much as you could?_

_Remember that, Sasuke? You always protected Sakura and Naruto. _

_Protecting Sai and Ino... Did it feel the same? Does it make you wish you were a part of a team, again? Does it make you miss Hawk? Does it make you miss **Team Seven**?_)

"No one was touched, right," Ino asked, after healing a nasty cut on Sasuke's ribs. "You're who you're supposed to be, right?"

"Hn."

"Yes." Sai tilted his head, slightly, and added, "Shall we prove it to one another?"

It was quiet, for a second.

"When I was younger, I let my friendship with my best friend end for a boy," Ino said, straight faced.

"I still want to know how deep the bond between Naruto and Sasuke is," Sai said, placidly and with a smile.

Sasuke stared at them both for a second as they stared back at him, expectantly. His jaw pulsed as he clenched it taut, Adam's apple bobbling as he swallowed. He deactivated his Sharingan, completely forgetting that his eyes had still been blood red, and looked away.

"I was lied to for half of my life."

And it went, and remained, quiet after that.


	29. question

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To chocolate cake, soda and the feeling you get when you buy new books.

**notes: **Here's to getting hit on by bisexual MILFs, flailing over your older siblings' friends, checking out your coworker's ass and boys with pretty eyes. Tis be my life in a nutshell.

x

breathe_slow_

The fire crackled, in the center of the little camp they'd made.

Sasuke crouched in front of it, poking and prodding at it with a thick twig, to get the fire to expand and rise. On one of the thick, fallen branches they'd dragged to surround the fire, Sai sat and scribbled onto his sketchbook. Idly and somewhat subconsciously, Sasuke wondered how that thing was still intact.

Ino was nearby; they'd stopped only when they'd heard the noise of water. A river, they'd found out; Ino'd been adamant to leave the place because she wished to shower. So the boys had set camp little ways from the river, close enough to hear if Ino was attacked, but far enough to not see anything.

It'd been quiet and awkward between the two boys, the entire time.

It still was.

Sasuke wondered if it was tension. But, regardless of his instant distaste of his replacement for Team Seven, Sasuke didn't know him enough to feed any tension between them.

Maybe it had to do with that fact; the fact that Sai took over Sasuke's place in his old team. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Sai was friends with Naruto and Sakura. Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was Sai, now, that trained with them, went on missions with them, hung out with them, waited for Kakashi with them, and ate at Ichiraku's with them.

He wondered, again, completely subconsciously, if he sat on the same stool Sasuke did years ago.

Abruptly, yet slowly, Sai looked up from his sketching, dark eyes blank and that blank, placid smile on his face. "May I ask a question?"

Sasuke itched to say no. But, regardless, gave a noncommittal, cryptic grunt.

"Is it common for Uchihas to betray?"

Sasuke stared at him, incredulous, his blood boiling and his skin prickling.

"You betrayed Naruto and Sakura," Sai went on, completely clueless, "as well as Orochimaru, your teacher. And then you betrayed your other team... Are you going to betray Ino and I, as well?"

Sasuke'd never been a man of words; but he'd never been left _speechless_ before. He stared at Sai with unreadable eyes, lips barely parted, mid-sneer, and stiff. How did he answer that? Should he answer that? Why _would_ he answer that?

(_Coz they're your teammates, now._

_You, Ino and Sai._

_You're a team now._

_And, face it, Sasuke, your track record of working in a team is horrible. Leaving one teammate crying and passed out on a bench, almost killing the other; abandoning two and then sacrificing another. Yeah. You got some work to do, kid._

_Here's your next chance to fix things. Go at it._)

"I've never been betrayed, before," Sai said, tone neutral, as if he were talking about anything else. "But by the way Naruto and Sakura go by, it must really hurt. I haven't really gotten that far in my books..."

Ino appeared, then, clean and looking happy. Sai trailed off and turned to look at her with one of his smiles before returning to stare at Sasuke, imploringly.

Sasuke swallowed, thickly, and grunted, shaking his head and paying only half attention to anything else, said that night._  
><em>


	30. panic

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To sleep because I really want more of it.

**notes: **I LOST MY GODDAMN MIND IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. Thanks for the support, pretties!

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke jolted up from his snooze as the same thought bothered him for the third night.

What had Ino meant when she was saying goodbye to Sakura...?

_Surely_, it wasn't about _him_, was it? The thought of the possibilities made his lips contort into a frown and his stomach clench. Sakura _hated_ him, why would she even... What had Ino _said_ to her.

Weak moments like these made Sasuke wonder if Naruto and Kakashi were starting to, if not already, hate him, as well. But then he'd catch himself and he'd steel himself all over, again, and ignore any thought as best as he could. He wasn't supposed to care, and, he convinced himself, he surely didn't.

(_But you doooo. You care a lot._)

Someone stirred from their curled-sitting position. Ino's head full of blond hair straightened up as Ino cracked some kinks out of her neck. She stared at him, briefly, and simply said, "I hav'ta pee."

Sasuke... Just stared at her as she stood up and disappeared behind some trees, little ways from them.

She came back a minute later, fully intent on getting a bit more sleep before they were to be on the move, again.

"Wait," Sasuke hissed at her before he caught himself. He watched her snap an eye open and raise a brow. "...What..."

"Hmmm," she hummed.

"What did you talk to Sakura about?"

Apparently this spiked Ino's interest because both her eyes were now open and she was sitting up, resting her elbows on the rough surface of the branch.

"It wasn't about me was it?"

"Maybe," she said, a small little smile on her lips. "Maybe not. Why does it matter to you?"

Sasuke shook his head and glared, looking away. "Don't... Don't even bother with whatever you're trying to do."

"What _am_ I trying to do," she asked, rhetoric.

He knew what she was doing; she was trying to restore everything back to normal; she was like a girl version of stupid Naruto. But... Sasuke's fists clenched, at his side, the soiled and dirty gauze wrapped around them making a noise in protest. Some things... Some things were just too damaged to ever be restored.

"Just don't," he repeated.

This time, Ino was the one to shake her head and glare. "Quit it, Sasuke," she hissed. "Are you... What are you doing? Feeling sorry for yourself or what?"

"_No_," Sasuke hissed at her.

"Then quit it." She began to curl back into herself, eyes half-lidded. "Not everything's gonna be easy; just coz you both almost killed each other... Doesn't mean y'not friends."

She was asleep, then.

Sasuke glared for the rest of the night.

The next morning, they were on the move, again, sprinting through the forest grounds and pressing themselves against trees when they'd hear movements. Their breathings were hard, but they tried to suppress it, in case the Zetsus were near; having them being able to camouflage themselves with the forest was the biggest disadvantage they could ever have.

Sasuke and Ino sprinted for the next mile while Sai jumped across branches to scout higher grounds.

They heard something, then and all three hid; their chests rose and fell rapidly with each labored breath. And as the noise got louder and louder, all three went still before, at the signal and agreement between the three, Sasuke lunged at it from his hiding spot, kunai out from his holster and holding it against their neck.

"Wait, wait, wait," the man whimpered, staring at Sasuke wide-eyed. "Please don't kill me!"

It was one of the shinobi from their camp.

Sasuke pulled off him just as Ino and Sai appeared, to look down at him.

"This is our sector to scout," Sai commented, blankly, "Is something wrong?"

"I was... I was sent," the man said, still shaky from Sasuke's attack. "I was sent to tell you guys that the east camp was attacked!"

Everything went still for a fraction of a second before Ino's hands shot up and gripped Sai and Sasuke's sleeves. "Th-that's where Sakura was heading for. That... Oh my _god_."

Ino made to move but Sasuke was quick to hiss, "_Wait_."

"Sasuke..."

"How do we know you're who you are and not a Zetsu in disguise." Though, within him, there was that familiar, yet foreign, panic he'd always get.

"I... I... Our camp was attacked as well!"

"That could easily be known to every Zetsu," Sai, commented, looking agitated.

The man looked around with frantic eyes. "Kankuro-sama! He... He's the Kazekage's brother. Yes! I..."

"Good enough," was heard before the three of them took off towards the east.


	31. anxiety

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To letting stress roll off you like a boss. Shitson.

**notes: **In celebration that I don't work tomorrow. I AM GOING TO FLAIL EVERYWHERE. ALSO ALSO ALSO ITS SASUKE'S BIRTHDAY I LOVE HIM.

x

breathe_slow_

The camp was in chaos.

Heaps of dirt flew in the air and there was screams of terror, agony piercing the air along with gurgles of something like death. Sasuke, Ino and Sai fought their way through; Sasuke using his Chidori Nagashi, Ino using her tantō and Sai being quick to sketch fierce and combating animals.

Zetsus were everywhere - white and black - and they were attacking with much vigor. Soon, everything would be disastrous as the White Zetsus would take their chances of transforming into those they'd touch.

It'd be a massacre.

Sasuke grit his teeth in unadulterated anger as he pierced Zetsu after Zetsu after Zetsu with his Chidori. Something was eating at him, inside; it was his rage and something else, teaming up and chewing him up from the inside out. His skin prickled with agitation, anxiety, and that ever present fury as he moved deeper into the destroyed camp.

"I don't see her," shouted Ino in a panicked shriek as she continued to evade and incapacitate her opponents.

The seconds, the minutes, the hours could have been dragging on for eternity, to them, as they ran and fought and ran and fought and searched. It was agonizing, to say the least.

"Over there," Sai finally, after what seemed like forever, called out in his monosyllabic tone.

A second later they turned to the direction Sai had nudged his chin and, sure enough, there was Sakura, battered and bruised and bleeding. She looked weak in the knees and about ready to pass out at any given second as she braced herself, gloved fists clenched tight as she punched any enemy that got close.

Sasuke, Ino and Sai shared a look before they took off, in sync, towards her.

(_Have you noticed what you're doing?_

_I hope you don't. Not yet._

_This is the real you, kid; you should let him out more often._)

"Sakura," Ino cried just as Sakura's lack of chakra finally got to her and she began to collapse. Ino caught her, in mid air, just as Sasuke and Sai made to block the Zetsus flying towards them.

Sasuke was given no chance to think. No chance to act. No chance to anything as, in the distance, above the battle cries and the music death liked to dance to, something was heard.

"_SAKURA-CHAN!_"


	32. nerves

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To feasting later tonight! And to Sonya!

**notes: **Soon, I'm gonna go back and fix typos. They're bothering me. Also, hii, I'm les and a bit insane; tell me about yourself! I'd like to meet my reviewers ;D

x

breathe_slow_

There was something bubbling in the pit of his stomach; the bubbles seemed to lift and float through his veins and around his entire system.

He was frozen in place; stiff and stuck as he watched an orange-yellow-red glow appear from the sky and destroy the Zetsus ready to pounce on him and Sai.

Sasuke didn't know what that bubbling something coursing through his body was. It made his limbs tremble and it made his head pulse. Maybe it was that rage of his; oh, that rage was going to be his downfall, this was something Sasuke had come into terms with long, long ago. But maybe it was something else.

Maybe it was tension.

Maybe it was, plain out, his nerves.

Sasuke would admit that relaxing around Ino was one thing. She was intuitive and something about her reminded him so much of his mother. Not to mention that she tackled right dead and center where it hurt the most and _she wasn't scared of him_.

But...

Naruto... and Sakura...

He couldn't do it.

Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Perhaps he had actually severed the bonds between them; or damaged them beyond any repair.

But at the sight of Naruto, fox-shaped orange-eyes drowned with fierce determination and the same anxiety Sasuke had felt... It made Sasuke wish he'd quit going around doing things out of pure impulsion. Because then he wouldn't be there, in the middle of a new battlefield with his former teammates around.

"_You're a coward!"_

Ino called him a coward, more than once. Was this cowardice?

Sasuke clenched his jaw taut and lowered his head, his messy forelocks shadowing his face as, something like anger took over that other bubbling feeling. And Sasuke was okay with this; he knew how to deal with anger. He loved how it felt as it filled his veins.

Anger, he could deal with.

Naruto was standing back up to his height, the glow surrounding him as he controlled the Nine-Tails' chakra almost annoying and bright in the forest. Kiba and Akamaru, and Shikamaru dropped from the trees, not too long ago, their eyes taking in the destruction the Zetsus caused.

Sasuke was beginning to feel something like claustrophobia at the fact that all of Konoha Twelve were slowly making their way to them. He glared and continued to shake; he fisted his hands at his sides, his phobia and his nerves warping, as any other emotion he'd ever felt usually did, into anger.

"Is Sakura-chan alright," Naruto hollered, tone deep and scratchy.

Ino looked up at them and nodded, "Yeah. She overexerted herself, like always. She's okay, though."

Naruto nodded and turned back to glare at their enemies. Sasuke felt someone's eyes on him, from behind; he grew stiffer.

"Quit it," he heard Ino hiss, "S'okay; quit freaking out, you're such a _girl_."

Sasuke whirled around to glare at her, but Ino was smirking at him and gave him a wink.

He glared some more and, just as the others did, he went jumped right back into battle.


	33. pressure

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To EmbraceInvisibility who reviewed every single chapter to this story. And to my Falling In Reverse CD.

**notes: **"I can be a prick, if you tempt me my tank is on empty. No patience is in me, and if you had been me I'm lifting you ten feet in the air, I don't care who was there and who saw me." I love Eminem. Also, anonymous reviews are allowed, again. Just coz I feel like being nice. But if its abused, again, I'm deactivating it for good. :)

x

breathe_slow_

In the end of this aftermath of many more to come, they dropped, almost dead with tired bodies and depleted chakra, around Ino.

Bodies littered the ground, around them, as well as trees sprouting left and right. Tents were destroyed and unrecognizable, the rare ones that still stood were splattered with blood and muck. The survivors wandered around, breathing hard and holding on to themselves as they searched for anyone that could be saved.

Sasuke stared at the ruined ground with half-lidded eyes, shoulders rising and falling rapidly as he tried to regain his breath.

"Is Sakura-chan okay," Naruto asked panic and weariness laced in his tone.

The other three boys, including Sasuke, looked up at Ino who was using her knees to pillow Sakura's head, hands resting on either of Sakura's small shoulders. She looked up at them, single visible blue eye blank and jaded at having to watch yet another attack. "She's _fine_, idiot. Give her some credit."

"I _do_," Naruto said, scandalized.

Ino rolled her eyes and ignored him. She scanned them with her eyes, asking, "You guys okay?"

There were grunts and groans and low comments of consent. They were bruised and cut, but they'd live.

Sasuke's shoulders ached from having them so tense; he rarely noticed he'd do it, until the pain would drill onto his mind. He was sitting in a circle with Shikamaru, Kiba, Sai, Ino, an unconscious Sakura and Naruto.

At the thought Sasuke's jaw twitched with unease.

The general of the camp, someone that Sasuke'd never seen in his life, limped around, trying as much as he could to be of some help. They watched him, quietly and somber, nodding when he passed by them and asked if everyone was alright; they had to assure him countless of times that Sakura was surely alive and just passed out of over exertion.

This caused Sasuke's eyes to glue onto Sakura, as the general left to continue to search.

Still small and fragile-looking, Sakura'd changed from being something like useless, to being someone valuable and vital. Sasuke'd been so used to the Sakura that stood in the sidelines and cried, it was almost weird to wrap his mind around the fact that now... She was everything but that.

Of course, Sasuke'd only recently realized this; the last time he saw Sakura, before this war and before that day in his cell, she'd choked and failed to do what she was intending to. Much like the little girl he remembered. But now... She had camp generals worried of losing her; traveling back and forth to help every camp...

Sasuke shook his head.

This was—

Green eyes stared at him and Sasuke was taken aback.

"Whaaa," Sakura groaned and tried to sit up, eyes closing and scrunching up. And then something hit her, causing her to sit up in a snap, eyes wide and mouth opened as she almost screamed, "The attack!"

"Oh, calm down, Forehead," Ino muttered, yanking the smaller girl back down to continue to rest on her lap. "Everything's okay, now. And look! Shikamaru and Kiba and Akamaru and even Sai are here... And so are Naruto... And Sasuke..."

Sasuke swallowed thickly as the air tensed.

"Oh..." Sakura stared at them all, head on Ino's lap. "Is... everyone okay?"

"SAKURA-CHAN," Naruto finally wailed, scampering over to her. "I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY! I WAS SO WORRIED I RUSHED HERE AS FAST AS I COULD BUT STUPID SASUKE-TEME BEAT ME."

And the air tensed all the more.

"Oh how troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as Kiba snorted, next to him.

As Sasuke looked away, he couldn't help but agree.


	34. impulse

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Sonya, to Hannah, to Demi, to Selene, to Nicole for stopping me from doing brash things. And to Tiny Dundie74. Thank you.

**notes: **Its funny... I wasn't planning on updating this for a long, long time. I wasn't planning on updating anything SasuSaku related. Because I hate all of you, and I'm sick and tired of trying to be told how to write _my_ story. But then... I started rereading In Nine Days by cutecrazyice (HI CHRISTINE) and... it made me remember why I love SasuSaku so much. So this is a big fuck you to the majority of you, that are fucking fanbrats in search for something to get off with. And a big thank you for those that are as patient as me, because your support is gold. You're saints, have my vagina.

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke crouched in front of one of the many enormous, thick trees that fell over during the battle. Underneath it was a crushed body of someone who probably had been dead, by the time the tree toppled over. He clenched his jaw at the sight of blood; funny, how he normally loved the color of it.

Like his own camp, the east camp was now trying to rise up from the crumpled mess that was left behind; like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

It was time to move on, in a sense. He watched as the remnants of the shinobi, from the east camp, along with his team and Naruto's team tried to restore things as best as possible. Soon, they were to bury those that died, soon they would try to build the tents, soon, they would all begin to get healed, soon... They'd all be okay, again.

Was this a cycle that Sasuke missed?

Be consumed by something so negative - like pain and hatred and betrayal and hurt - and then just... move on because eventually everything'd be okay?

Sasuke furrowed his brow, at the thought, looking away from the shinobi and looking down at the ruined ground. Had he missed it or... had he been so consumed in his revenge and his hate, that he ignored it? Was this... Was this what they all tried to drill in his head? Naruto... Kakashi... Sakura... And now, Ino... Was...

He shook his head, glaring down at the ground.

Perhaps he just needed some sleep, because he didn't understand the thoughts he was entertaining.

(_And yet, you're now wondering if this cycle will happen with Team Seven, huh?_

_Will you all heal, now that the pain and hurt and betrayal passed? Will you all be okay?_

_It's okay to wonder, Sasuke. It's okay to admit you still care._)

Sasuke cracked at his knuckles and began to move the broken branches away, as so to get the body out to be properly buried with the rest. Rather than thinking about petty things as cycles and the road to recovery, he should be wondering which shinobi was actually a Zetsu. He shook his head, at himself, thinking himself foolish for even giving the thought any fruition.

"Oi!"

Sasuke pretended not to hear anything or how painfully obvious and familiar that voice was.

But then Naruto was crouched next to him, facing him and staring at him with guarded blue eyes. Sasuke didn't turn to acknowledge him.

"Why'd y'come here, Sasuke-teme," Naruto asked. Any trace of that idiot playful moron that didn't seem to be effected by the tension in the air, was gone.

Why?

The hell if Sasuke knew.

So he didn't respond.

"I mean," Naruto went on, not noticing that Sasuke didn't respond, "I'm not saying its a bad thing - it's actually pretty cool! I thought I wasn't gonna see you 'til the war was over, obviously we needed to meet up and see who was winning, so far."

Had Sasuke even wanted to reply, he would have been unable, completely at a loss of words for what Naruto was saying. Sasuke's dark eyes stared at the designs in the bark of the trees, as he tried to remember _how_ much of a moron Naruto was.

"But..." Naruto's tone turned serious, again, "...Can I ask you something?"

As was per usual, much to his annoyance, Sasuke said, out of impulsion and without a chance to catch himself, "You already did."

"...Did you come here coz Sakura-chan was in trouble?"

At this, Sasuke did turn to face him, dark eyes shadowed by his forelocks and frown weighing his lips down. Such a forceful frown, he decided, as his jaw twitched. Naruto was staring at him, head tilted to the side, messy spikes drooping everywhere.

Sasuke shook his head and looked away.

"No."

The hell if Sasuke knew.

He made a move... He had been moving out of impulse. His body had just gone off and went on its own as he just watched where it took him.

Impulse.

It had always been what drove the three of them the most, in the past.


	35. bonding

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Cherry Dr. Pepper. The piss of the Gods, legit.

**notes: **Expect a lot of things from me these next four days. I got "laid off" - if it can even be called that - coz of an injury. So. More time to be at home, which is more than fine with me. I rarely get to see my ma', now, coz I get home so late. I'd also like to say **_thank you_** to the batch of reviewers, last chapter. It's amazing to know that there are some of you that _get_ what I'm trying to do. Here's a long chapter for you guys, as my present. :)

x

breathe_slow_

Dusk looked kind of nice, in the woods, Sasuke decided as he sat on the dirt ground around one of the many fires surrounding the still in shambles, but slowly being fixed, east camp. He leaned against the closest tree and looked up at the periwinkle-orange-pink-yellow-red sky, blankly, not blinking to see how many times he could catch a star twinkle into appearance.

Naruto hadn't pestered him, after that day, about anything. Sasuke'd accepted, quietly and somewhat grudgingly, his help in moving the tree. But after that, Naruto'd stared at him with those same guarded eyes for a second, gave him a grin and went off to help Sakura.

Sasuke'd been more than okay with this.

The thought - the _presence _- of Team Seven being within close proximity of him still suffocated Sasuke. It wasn't about severing bonds or anything like that, anymore. It... They'd been put through a lot; perhaps too much. Guards were thick and up so high, it was almost crazy how much the tension floated around them in a thick, invisible fog.

Sasuke'd come to terms with a few things.

He tried to kill Naruto.

He tried to kill Kakashi.

He tried to kill Sakura.

All three on more than one occasion.

They tried to kill him, too.

All four have tried to kill each other.

It was ludicrous to think that everything'd be alright, if ever, between them. It didn't matter if Sasuke wanted it, or not, anymore. Sometimes, things just can't get fixed. Sasuke was more than positive this was one of those things.

Someone dropped down next to him, with enough space between them to make Sasuke feel appreciative. He looked down from his challenge against the stars and stared at Ino's blond head as it drooped, her attention on her hands. Like him, and everyone else, her Alliance uniform was soiled and worn out and torn; it reminded Sasuke how much he wished he had a change of clothes.

"There's blood under my fingernails," Ino commented, softly.

Sasuke's eyes dropped to her fingers, for a second, before turning to the fire. "...And?"

She looked up at him, eyes clouded. "Even with years of being a kunoichi, the thought of having blood on me still scares me. It may seem pathetic but..."

He waited for her to continue, quietly, his eyes on the general as a bird dropped to his forearm and handed him a scroll. Ino didn't resume her thought. Sasuke sighed, slowly, and asked, "But what."

She looked up, again, moving her bangs with the side of her hand, rather than touching it with her fingers. "Sakura's first time handling something in the OR was... It was bad. The patient died; that's all I know. Patient died. Sakura turned up at my doorstep, hands covered in blood, her face had some too, you know, and her clothes... She looked shaken up, teary-eyed, but not crying. I panicked for a second coz I thought she'd been hurt and all that blood was hers... But... Sakura broke down once we got to my room and it was _so hard_ to keep a straight face and be strong for her, while trying to clean her up and calm her down."

Sasuke swallowed, thickly.

Ino was staring at the fire.

"She was angry that she was able to revive and help birds, but couldn't help a fellow shinobi. I cleaned her up, got her to change into some of my clothes... But there was blood under her nails and when I tried to use a nail-filer to take it out... she told me not to. Told me it was okay." Ino shook her head. "It freaks me out, ever since. Crazy coping method."

It went quiet.

Something around Sasuke's ears was buzzing; perhaps it was the echo of the ringing in his head. Aftershock, of some sort, of having Ino tell him something that happened to Sakura... A bloody Sakura was an image, Sasuke would admit, he hated to imagine, whether it was hers or not. And this... made him think of that day, in the Forest of Death...

And that made him think of his curse seal.

And that made him think about Orochimaru.

And that made him think about leaving.

And that-

Was a cycle.

His arm twitched to touch the juncture of his neck and his shoulder, where once pain would jolt. But nothing was there, anymore, and there was no reason to cover and squeeze it.

"Do you like having blood under your nails," Ino asked, grabbing a small twig and using the sharp tip to clean the blood off.

Sasuke looked down at his hands, starting at his knuckles where the soiled gauze wrapped around his hands and forearms ended, and then moved up his fingers and to his nails. Like Ino, he had blood under them, along with dirt.

"No," he commented, after a while.

Ino nodded her head just as someone else sat on Sasuke's other side. And that same someone clapped him on the back.

"'Sup," Kiba said, nonchalantly.

Sasuke was scandalized.

From his other side, Ino laughed.

"Quit it," she said, in between her laughter, "quit acting like you don't know how much of an idiot Kiba is."

"Ouch," Kiba commented, lightly, putting a hand over his heart and furrowing his brow in faux pain.

Sasuke was still scandalized and unable to figure out what to do.

But before he could get anything to pass his lips, Shikamaru walked up to them, posture slouchy, hands stuffed in the pockets of his nin-pants and a lit cigarette in between his lips. "This is so troublesome; I'm getting tired of sleeping on the hard ground."

"Oh, shut up," Ino said, still grinning and pulling him down next to her, by his sleeve.

Sasuke was quick to remember that Ino and Shikamaru had been teammates, and, judging by just a glance, he figured they still were. She seemed really comfortable around him, scooting closer to him, as if searching for a brother's protection.

He tried to ignore the voice in his head that said Team Seven had never been like that.

(_But you were; Team Ten have different circumstances than your team, you know, Sasuke._

_And they show affections differently._

_Remember all the missions you had with Naruto and Sakura, and you'll see._)

Sai joined them, then. He was quiet and blank; a smile was on his lips but it didn't seem to convey anything. "Is this what is called bonding?"

"Call it what you want," Kiba said, getting comfortable.

Naruto appeared, looking crestfallen and moaning his sadness.

The five sitting on the ground stare at him, expectantly. Sasuke rolled his eyes, an inkling of an idea already bubbling around his head; that look and those moaned sounded and looked familiar.

Naruto was never going to change, was he?

"There's no _ramen_," he all but sobbed.

Shikamaru and Kiba groaned, seemingly tired of the same serenade from the north camp.

Sasuke fought the urge to shake his head because, seriously, Naruto was _never_ going to change.

But then the realization of having so many people from his old village and his own group - the group he betrayed - caught up to him and he was growing stiff and tense and uncomfortable. He figure it'd take time to get used to, but fuck if having them act so normal around him didn't bother him.

They were planning on killing him, right? ...Why didn't they do it, now? And why did they act like everything was okay?

Were they quick to forgive and move on?

Naruto plopped down on the ground, running his hand through his hair. "I'm runnin' low on chakra. Being in Nine-tails-chakra mode to detect any enemies among us is so tiring."

"How many more do you think are out there," Ino asked, in a murmur but not asking anyone specific. "I want to go home..."

It went quiet as the feeling of nostalgia and yearning curled around them. Sasuke looked up, again; the sky had darkened, already, and the starts were prominent in their glinting. His spine and his shoulders hurt from how stiff he was. And a migraine pulsed in his head.

They stayed like that for a while, before a slow rumble of conversation cracked around them; Ino and Shikamaru wondered how Chouji was; Kiba mused about Shino and Hinata, before grinning as Sai and Naruto bickered and Sasuke just watched them all, frozen, dumbfounded and not knowing how to react.

Soon, Sakura all but crawled to them, bags under her eyes and skin pale.

She dropped, almost dead, next to Naruto, sitting sideways and leaning her back against Naruto's side and using him as a pillow. "...I just... Five minutes... Wake me up... In five minutes."

"They're overworking you," Ino said, frowning.

Sakura shook her head, eyes closed. "I bet Shizune's worse; I'd look... Like I'm on vacation."

"Quit it," Ino hissed, the others silently agreeing with her. "You need more than five minutes and if that fucker of a general comes here to try and wake you up I'm setting loose five boys on him."

Sakura shook her head again, smiling. "I'm fine."

"I believe this is called 'workaholic'," Sai commented, placidly, before furrowing his brow. "You seem to do it a lot, Ugly. It would be very nice if you stopped."

It went quiet.

"I think he means he wants you to relax," Kiba said, nodding.

The others nodded, as well, in agreement.

Sakura cracked an eye open, green eye bloodshot. Her lips were cracked as she grinned at them, shaking her head and ignoring Naruto as he bellowed about her tendencies to do too much. Like he was one to talk, Sasuke wanted to say, but bit his tongue from saying anything at all.

"Guys," Sakura drawled, again, "I'm _fine_."

And there came that impulse.

"Overworking yourself won't do anyone any good." And as he said that, voice deep and low and a monotone, Sasuke kicked himself ten million times.

Everyone just stopped.

Sasuke stopped breathing, for a second, looking at the camp over Naruto's shoulder and Sakura's head. He swallowed, taking in, from his peripheral vision as Ino smiled encouragingly, Shikamaru stared, Kiba's attention wandered around, Sai looked on, expectantly, and Naruto and Sakura stared at him with semi-wide eyes.

He wanted to flee, right then and there. But a sudden weight to his arm - a hand gripping at his sleeve - seemed to have sensed it as Ino said, keeping him in his spot, "He's right, Sakura. As a med-nin, you have to put your life before the others. Without you, we're all going to die."

Sasuke tried to look nonchalant and expressionless as Ino kept him in his spot with a firm grip on his sleeve, and the others resumed their buzz of conversation and they all watched Sakura sleep.


	36. hope

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To playing MASH and rock, paper, scissors on the 'net. And to _The Scarlett Ribbon_ for an exceptionally long and detailed review that had me sobbing in happiness. As well as to the anon reviewer who... Wow, made me blush really hard.

**notes: **We're not so close to the end, per se, but we're making our way towards it and she is beautiful. So, I don't want to reach fifty chapters (something tells me I will, tho'). So I'm making the chapters a tad longer, but short enough to still be... whassit... enticing. Or something like that. Yes.

**On another important note:** Plagiarizers are shit; lower than scum, lower than trash and lower than shit. Please don't plagiarize. You lose all the respect from people, when you do. My wife's been plagiarized. And if you read my stuff religiously, you'd know who my wife is. She's been plagiarized and its not right. Get some tits, create your own shit. Pointblank.

x

breathe_slow_

"So I was thinking," Ino said, airily as she landed in a crouch in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke looked up at her, a thin sheet of sweat making his skin glisten under the sun. It's been around four days since his team, and Naruto's team, arrived to both help the east camp and to Sakura's rescue. With so many trees of the fallen Zetsus surrounding where the camp was, it'd taken quite a while to fix it back up.

Trees had to be chopped off so that every corner of the camp could be visible to the general in his tent. Sasuke's team and Naruto's team had only been granted to stay long enough to help clean the mess up before they were to go back to their own camp.

"How impressive," Sasuke commented, dryly.

Ino stared at him, blankly, before rolling her eyes. "_Anyway_. I was thinking that... Revenge is a very powerful thing. Very... sticky; very tempting. Seductive."

Sasuke stared at her.

How would she know what revenge felt like? What the need for it felt like? How did she know that once it was in your head, it refused to leave until you abide to it?

"What would you know about that," he asked, trying to keep the bite out of his words. Ino was his... friend, now. She was the only person he actually felt comfortable around. Someone he hadn't tried to kill more than once and someone who - and he didn't really like this part - kept him in line.

Ino hummed as she fingered the tent Sasuke was fixing. "When Asuma-sensei was killed..."

Sasuke paused what he was doing and turned to stare at her, from under his forelocks. She was breathing harder than would be normal breathing, and her eyes were downcast; Sasuke wondered if that's how he looked, when he was younger and thought about those that were taken from him.

"When Asuma-sensei was killed," she tried again, "...Was one of the worst days of my life. Revenge was so close to consuming me; I actually think it _did_ consume me - us. It consumed the three of us. And we were prepared to leave the village in search for that revenge, just like you did. We _did_ leave, actually. And... Revenge was such a sweet, sweet thing when we fulfilled it."

"Asuma was... killed," Sasuke asked, brow furrowed.

Ino nodded. "By Akatsuki."

Sasuke flinched.

They went quiet.

"But anyway," Ino said in a lighter tone. "Just thought I'd say that, y'know?"

"Get away from me," Sasuke said, monotonous.

Ino laughed.

Sasuke shook his head and resumed his work. From somewhere behind him, he could hear Kiba and Naruto bickering in their loud voices. It made Sasuke twitch, much like it had done in their Academy days and their genin days. He turned to glare at them from over his shoulder, watching as Sai and Shikamaru stood by, little ways, staring with exasperated looks.

And then Sakura stomped towards them, smashing their heads together and hissing something Sasuke couldn't hear.

Shaking his head, he looked away.

"Can I ask something," he started off with much difficulty.

Ino looked up, caught up in helping putting the tent up. "Yeah?"

Sasuke opened his mouth. And then shut it with a snap.

He knew what he wanted to ask; he knew what he was asking for help. It's just that Sasuke couldn't bring himself to say it aloud. He couldn't get himself to let Ino know he was vulnerable and confused and in need of help. It was stupid to even think about.

Shaking his head he went back to work on the tent. "Forget it."

And he knew Ino's eyes were on his, contemplative, curious and - he'd be damned - knowing.

"Can _I_ ask something," she drawled, standing up once the tent was perfectly stable.

"No."

She glared at him, lightly, lips fighting to turn upwards.

"I... Okay, I'm not stupid," she began, "I know it'd generally take time and be hard; what with this being _you_. But... I'd thought you'd make up with at least _Naruto_ by now. What's wrong?"

Sasuke picked his shirt and his flak jacket up from the ground.

He didn't know.

Naruto's presence annoyed him; sure, it was the same annoyance Sasuke's always held for the idiot; the same annoyance he'd get when they were twelve. But, at the same time, much like everything else, it was kind of difficult to get things to be how they used to be.

If anything, a need for a talk, was evident.

But he and Naruto were never the kind to talk.

"Dunno," he finally drawled, turning back - on reflexes - to the same spot where the others had been, just to see them dispersing around the camp, and helping as much as they could.

"Did you apologize?"

Sasuke was affronted.

"Why would I _apologize_."

Ino stared at him, incredulous.

"I think all three of you need to get over the angst and just apologize and make up," she said, straightforward. She placed her hands on her hips, something like a smirk on her lips as she bent forwards, a bit, saying, "'Case you haven't noticed, Sasuke, you've changed quite a bit in the last few weeks; I mean, look, you're not even going all ballistic on me."

Sasuke stared at her as she made a move to leave.

"What's your point," he asked her back.

Ino paused and spared him a glance from over her shoulder, contemplative, again. "There's hope, duh."

"Oi, Uchiha." That was the general who's name Sasuke didn't have any care for.

Sasuke turned to him, face blank from the pensive look he'd been wearing a second ago. He stared down at the two figures on the ground before looking back up to him.

"Take these to the medic."

For someone who was in dire need for her service, the general didn't even seem to find it fit to use her name. But it's not like Sasuke was one to talk, so he said nothing.

This was like a strong dose of déjà vu, he decided, as he bent forwards and slung a man over either of his shoulders. They were both rather heavy, but he'd live. It seemed, he mused, as he began to walk towards the new medic tent, that this was always and the only way Sasuke ever had to face Sakura.

He dropped the bodies on two empty makeshift beds, closest to Sakura's examining station.

She had her head drooped, over someone, short, messy and choppy pink hair curtaining her from everything else. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his nin-pockets and cleared his throat.

Sakura looked up at him, immediately, green eyes dark from her concentration. "Wha—Oh...Sasuke..."

"Brought two more," he said, curtly, and jabbing either of his thumbs to the men he'd brought in. She still looked rather tired, he noticed. Bags under her eyes that were more pronounced than even his stood out against her pale skin. Had she even eaten?

"Oh," she said again, "Um... Yes. Thank you."

Sasuke nodded and turned around, walking out of the tent and running into, quite literally, Naruto, who had two other shinobis over either of his shoulders.

"Gah!" Naruto fought for balance. "Watch it, Sasuke-teme, god!"

Sasuke stared at him blankly for a second, not moving out of the way.

Naruto stared right back at him.

"You," Sasuke began, pointing back at Sakura, "should keep an eye on her. She looks dead."

Naruto's eyes darted to Sakura's hunched figure, glowing from the green glow of her hands. He looked back at Sasuke, a weird look on his face that Sasuke couldn't pinpoint. "Why don't you?"

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke scoffed.

"Look, Sasuke—"

"Just do it."

And Sasuke left.


	37. naruto

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Sonya for cheating with me! To my wonderful batch of reviewers; where have you guys been? Also, to those same reviewers that got me to five hundred reviews; I've never gotten to five hundred~ And to Emily for looking this over for me!

**notes: **Ew, I hate beer. Annoyedfayce. Also, I have this poppy-seed and sherry cake. And a two litter bottle of Dr. Pepper. Where the party at? ;D

x

breathe_slow_

The night before he and his teammates had to go back to their camp, Sasuke woke up in the middle of the night after having a bizarre dream.

Or, maybe it wasn't even a dream. Maybe it was something like a flashback.

It involved him and it involved Naruto and it involved words Sasuke hadn't wanted to hear. Words that stung and burned and sizzled when they made contact with his skin. It involved Chidoris and it involved Rasengans and it involved a lot of blood and...

It also involved one final attempt to kill.

But he hadn't killed, Sasuke mildly placated himself. He hadn't killed because Naruto was still being loud and annoying, somewhere, and he was still alive and free of being executed for murder.

And yet, there Sasuke was, sitting up from a makeshift sleeping-bag, in the middle of the night, staring into the darkness as if he were an owl. And thoroughly displeased.

Of course, being that he was _Sasuke_, he was never going to admit that. And if he never admitted, no one but himself would know.

(_At least you knowww_—)

Sasuke didn't really notice how long he sat there; maybe until his breathing resumed to normal. Breathe slow, breathe slow.

It wasn't until he woke up to a clear six o'clock in the morning sky, that he realized he'd fallen asleep somewhere in between counting the intervals between his breathing. Mildly glaring in annoyance with himself, Sasuke sat up, again, and stared around the renewed campsite.

There was something stuck in Sasuke's head; the kind of stuck that wouldn't leave until something was done about it. Which usually involved speaking to someone and getting answers. Only, Sasuke wasn't really into talking to anyone, let alone anyone that made him feel awkward.

And sadly, Ino wouldn't happen to have the answers to this. Actually, Ino was probably kept in the dark about this, just like everyone else. Just like _him_.

(_Temper, temper_—)

Standing up and sliding his nin-shirt and his flak jacket back over his torso, Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and searched the grounds for any source of tanned skin and bright hair. But when he found the idiot, he was sprawled and all over the place next to a tiny, curled up body with a head full of pink.

Sasuke didn't want to deal with anything _that_ would bring up, so he settled into preparing for his departure. Which, he soon realized, didn't require much, if anything; just the tattered clothes on his back and his teammates. Sasuke glowered at the lack of anything to do.

It wasn't until around ten in the morning that he was approached by the ever clueless and aggravating Sai.

He had that stupid smile on his face; the same one that offended people, rather than loosened them up. Sasuke decided it made Sai look like he had smelt something disgusting.

"Shall we go," Sai asked in a tone that would have come off amicably on anyone else.

Sasuke eyed him from under his forelocks. "No."

"Oh?"

"I have something to do," Sasuke drawled, vaguely. "Wait until then."

Sai blinked for a couple of seconds, as if running by what Sasuke said, in his head, until it clicked. "Well, then. Would you... Like some breakfast?"

"No."

Not that Sasuke was trying to be rude - which he completely was - but he just wasn't hungry. And Sai still annoyed him with his blunt cluelessness. To his horror, Sai sat down next to him, legs crossed and hands quickly busying themselves on his art.

Sasuke glared.

"I read," Sai began, head bowed as he looked at the white page of his sketchbook, "that friends should spend quality time together."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Then go spend time with Ino, Kiba and Shikamaru." He paused, his eyes glued onto Sai, subconsciously, as he added, "Or Naruto and Sakura. Go be with them."

Sai looked up, slowly, brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"They're your friends, aren't they," Sasuke sneered.

And so a thoughtful look came across Sai's facial expression as he pondered. "Perhaps... But they are _your_ friends, too."

"Don't," Sasuke growled. Because Sasuke really didn't want to go there, this early.

"Hm?"

Sighing and standing up, Sasuke shook his head and walked away.

His feet dragged him towards a very disgruntled and disheveled looking Naruto who was half asleep, as he stood in place. Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes as the thing that kept bothering him resurfaced over the annoyance Sai had brought to him in such little time. Sasuke paused in front of Naruto, shoving his hands inside the pockets of his nin-pants.

"Dobe."

Naruto's blue eyes slowly slid to him and Sasuke watched with slight amusement as they refocused and became alert.

"Wah! Sasuke-teme!"

"Shut _up_," Sasuke hissed, glaring.

Naruto stared at him, obviously confused at the fact that Sasuke sought him out, rather than isolating himself as best to his abilities. "Whattaya want? You okay?"

Sasuke paused from his strategy of just bluntly asking what he had to ask and get everything over with. He pondered and observed as Naruto eyed him almost worryingly, as if something was wrong with Sasuke and he was in dire need of the idiot's help. Like...

He shook his head.

"That day," he began, slowly and lowly in a hushed murmur that only Naruto could hear. "By Madara's hideout. Where we fought."

At this, Naruto's furrowed brow relaxed and a nod replaced it.

"Everything you were saying," Sasuke went on, a pool of something like anxiety bubbling in the pit of his empty stomach. "How did... You know about all that?"

Because Sasuke needed to know; because maybe with knowing, it'd satisfy the stirring and the voices in his head. Because maybe, maybe, just maybe Madara's choice of words had been carefully selected to play with Sasuke's head enough to torment him forever and do stupid things. Because maybe what Sasuke was told _did_ happen but... Maybe there was something _more_.

Perhaps this was something like closure.

He caught Naruto's jaw twitching in strain, as he clenched it, his blue eyes glued to the ground.

"Y'mean... About your family," Naruto finally asked, carefully. Almost delicately, had it not been Naruto the one speaking; that ruled the possibility out. Naruto was never delicate.

Sasuke gave a stiff nod.

It went quiet again and Sasuke's pool of anxiety continued to grow.

"Oh," Naruto muttered, lifting a hand and scratching at the back of his head. "Well... Believe it or not, but... The same person that told you, told me."

And the pool shriveled and dissipated and was forever gone. Madara had told Naruto. And knowing the bastard, he'd probably said things raunchier to Naruto, than he'd done so to Sasuke. His shoulders squared and rising with that anxiety, slowly began to lower down into a slouch.

(_That wasn't anxiety, stupid._

_That was **hope**._)

"I see," Sasuke murmured, taking a step back and deciding it to be the perfect time to retreat and leave with his teammates.

"Wait, Sasuke-teme," Naruto shot a hand up, towards him. "Look... We can do something about this!"

"Shut up," Sasuke said, monotonous.

"No, you shut up, I'm _serious_," Naruto stressed. "It's not fair! What the elders did to your family_—"_

"Shut _up_, Naruto—"

Naruto snarled, "No, _you_ shut up! Shutting up isn't going to make things better; and it's not gonna make _you_ better. Actually, shutting up for so fucking long is what got you like this. So accept my fucking help and let's _do_ something about this. Tsunade-baa-chan said she'd do something without causing problems. Just... Stop being such a _dick_."

And really, that'd been the first time Sasuke'd seen Naruto so serious.

Actually, it was the second time. But the first time Sasuke actually _listened_.

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, shaking his head and looking away before his facial expression gave anything away. "You're so stupid."


	38. shellshock

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Sara, coz she gets what I mean without a need of explanation. And to my wonderful reviewers.

**notes: **So, here's the thing. I recoiled away from this story coz I got in a bit of a problem with it; but now, I think I've solved it. There... Will be a sequel to breathe slow. I normally don't like sequels, but its kind of needed for this one. Because, for one, Sasuke's still kind of, y'know, unstable _and_ we're nearing the end. And for two, the SasuSaku-ness. I'm trying to stay realistic as humanly possible and with what is left of breathe slow, it won't be enough to get their relationship to hit the point we all want. So, yeah! I hope you guys will still stick with me, with these news. :)

x

breathe_slow_

Evening came and Sasuke was, yet again, sitting around a fire.

Fires were so common when out on missions. When out on _wars_.

But that wasn't what was plaguing Sasuke's mind, that night. And it wasn't Ino's eyes gleaming knowingly or Sai and his sketching. And it wasn't his family or the past or the betrayal. It was something different, this time; almost a month, if not two or three or forever, and something entirely different was nibbling at his brain slowly, slowly and surely.

Before he'd left.

The camp, the east camp, before he left...

...That had been a bond at the start of mending, hadn't it?

Naruto and he.

Of course... It was. It had to be, he decided, poking at the fire with a twig. That's just the way it had always been; Naruto was all too forgiving and so utterly stupid.

It'd only taken one confrontation to get them on this term; on this track.

(_You're being hopeful, again, Sasuke! It's so nice to watch._

_You're growing up._)

But was he really?

Sasuke could still feel anger and resent, oh so strong within him and engraved - burned and stitched and injected into his veins. Quiet as they might be now, dormant, even, as he was allowed to finally coherently function, the two poisonous feelings still coursed within him, like a snake; slithering and hunting for the right moment.

So, if anger and resent still gripped him so firmly, has he really grown?

Sasuke couldn't find an answer.

He let out a sigh, through barely parted lips, and blinked his eyes. The flames were bright and powerful; orange and red and yellow and blue. It grew and crackled as he picked at it, absentmindedly, warming him and his teammates almost deliciously.

It was starting to get cold.

Perhaps autumn was approaching; maybe even winter. Sasuke didn't even know what time of year it was; not even the day, other than it being the same as the one before and the one to come.

He picked at the fire, some more, shifting in his seat so that he was on the dirt ground and the log he'd been perched on could work as a back recliner. His stomach growled, but they had no food to eat and it was too dark to go into the woods and find something; berries or fruit or a river with fish.

Huh, rivers with fish.

Rivers with fish made his mind automatically think of years behind where three twelve year olds were on their own, in a deadly forest, looking for food. One of the three, a stupid blond, was in the water, throwing a fish at a stupid arrogant fool and a meek girl worked at a fire, not too far.

Sasuke's lip twitched, at the side.

But that was a long time ago, Sasuke mused. Now, those three twelve year olds in a deadly forest were seventeen and at war.

(_With yourselves._)

"I want to go home," Ino finally whispered.

The silence cracked and through the cracks a soft wave of homesickness seeped in.

Sasuke didn't have a home.

He was brought back to Konoha, but was that _really_ home? If he felt the homesickness, and agreed with Ino, what home was he referring to? The Uchiha Compound, his old apartment, Orochimaru's deserted bases or the cottages and the woods he's been at?

(_Home is where the heart is, they say._)

But then, where was his heart?

Sasuke never really realized how little he knew about himself. His life had been so built around his goals, he never really properly paid attention to anything else he did, rather left his body and his mindset at the hands of something like impulse. Now, that he tried to grasp his sanity, he didn't really have anywhere to hold on to.

(_Team Seven, Sasuke. _

_Hold on to them._)

"Hey, you know what we should do when we head back home," Ino went on, voice rising and eyes glinting with excitement. "We should... Eat. We should eat; all of us. Together."

Sasuke and Sai spared each other a glance before turning back to her, with Sasuke still poking at the fire and Sai still holding on to his brush.

One of them was going to reply; one of them was going to ask her something.

A conversation would have started.

But then there was something like an explosion; something like a blast. Unexpected, and brilliantly concealed until the right moment to perform it.

It was dark; the stars were out, the moon was full and it was dark; the fire was put out with the attack and a thick wall of dust and smoke covered them, blinding them unjustly. Sasuke was breathing hard, coughing, slightly, and looking around with his Sharingan activated.

He couldn't see his teammates physically but it was something calming to see and feel their chakra.

"The hell's going on," he heard Ino hiss, heard her shift.

"Shh," he and Sai hissed, in sync.

"Sasuke," Sai murmured, it was so quiet and Sasuke was so alert, Sai sounded like he was yelling, "Can you see who has attacked us?"

Well, Sasuke said in his head, their only enemy.

Zetsu.

But nevertheless did he look around the thick smoke and tried to decipher or catch the enemy. They stood there, what they supposed and hoped was back to back, waiting and relying on Sasuke; it felt like forever and a half and Sasuke's nerves were recoiling and triggering his anger.

He felt blind and useless.

Until—

That chakra was familiar

That familiar chakra was coming at him with a speed that insinuated an attack. Sasuke opened his mouth, most probably to say something. But then something whirling and blue became visible. And Sasuke's mouth was still opened, his arms raising but feeling so heavy and useless.

His knees bent, preparing for a counter attack; or at least to evade.

But then, like slow motion, Sasuke saw the unmistakable Rasengan reach him; felt it hit him, felt it pierce at his middle, felt the wind as it hissed and bit at him as he flew back, felt the pain at colliding with trees. Felt a lot of things and wondered others.

And then it was black.


	39. united

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To The Scarlett Ribbon. And Sonya, for looking this over for me.

**notes: **I have cheesecake. With caramel sauce. And _soda_. (:**  
><strong>

x

breathe_slow_

_"They're my teammates, Shizune. Get out of the way."_

.

.

.

_"They're my teammates, Shizune."_

.

.

.

_"They're my teammates."_

.

.

.

_"Teammates."_

.

.

.

Sasuke lost consciousness, again.

.

.

.

His eyes were closed and his eyelids, over them, felt heavy; they were sinking his eyes all the way back, until they were most probably resting on his brain. His mind was fuzzy; blank and fuzzy and he couldn't remember much. At his sides, his hands twitched; they felt heavy, too. Everything felt heavy and wrong.

Sore.

He tried to shift but there was this ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach; sore and delicate.

Sasuke smelt blood, as his senses continued to wake up.

He groaned, lightly, trying with all the little strength he had to open his eyes. What happened?

Where was he?

His brow furrowed, eyes opened into a squint.

Oh, that's right. War... Zetsus... Naruto...

Rasengan.

His eyes snapped open, his head pulsing as he sat up. His speed gave him a feeling of nausea and his throat felt dry as he looked around for a millisecond before pure pain took over his system. Sasuke bit back one groan, but another escaped as he clutched at his middle, his hands meeting the material of gauze-wraps already sopping with blood.

Something moved next to him and Sasuke couldn't help but turn to it, his face scrunched up in the unadulterated pain.

Sakura was sitting up, pink hair a complete mess and those same bags under her eyes. She looked pale and she was growing even paler as her attention rested on him.

"Sasuke!"

She bolted up from her seat, as if it were to have a million poisonous senbons protruding from the seat and piercing her skin. She ran towards him, throwing herself next to his tatami mat and moving his hands from his bleeding abdomen with one hand and pushing him back with the other.

Sasuke was breathing fast, puffing his cheeks up with air and exhaling it as fast as he could.

His head pounded.

His eyes hurt.

Everything hurt.

"Naruto," he managed to groan through his teeth.

Sakura turned to him, green eyes almost frantic. "Shoot, you reopened the wound. Relax, Sasuke, _please_."

"Naruto," he repeated, this time a growl.

"He's _sleeping_; he's _okay_."

But Sasuke didn't care if Naruto was okay. Naruto was the reason why Sasuke was... Was in the medical camp.

...Why Sakura abandoned her position and came to them...

That's right.

Sasuke relaxed for a second before tensing, again, his breathing still erratic. Something warm was hitting his bleeding middle; warm and relaxing and nice. Yes, it was nice. The pain was still there; stinging and prickling at him and his nerves while the warmth of Sakura's chakra tried to rid it entirely.

"We're so lucky," she was murmuring, more to herself than to him, "that that Zetsu couldn't do Naruto's stronger Rasengans. You could have _died_."

Sasuke's jaw clenched.

Isn't that what she'd wanted, he wanted to ask her.

He didn't have the strength to.

"Sai and Ino had to bring you here," she went on, her voice almost cracking, "they were badly hurt... Fuck, this war is _stupid_."

Sai and Ino.

... His teammates.

Sasuke fought the urge to fall asleep again, slurring as he asked, "They okay...?"

"H-huh," Sakura looked up at him. The corner of her eyes were wet with unshed tears. "Sai and Ino...?"

Sasuke gave a soft nod.

"Mm," she hummed, still pumping chakra, "They're fine... Just wounded... They'll live..."

She's going to run out of chakra, if she continued. Sasuke's brow furrowed, but he couldn't say anything as he fell victim to the black abyss that sucked him in.

This time, when he woke up after what he presumed were a few hours, Ino was sitting on the edge of his bed, playing with Sakura's hair as she slept and used Ino's lap as a pillow. Ino turned to him, blue eyes hollow and glassy; there was a thin, watery smile on her lips and a thick band-aid holding a pillow of gauze against her right cheek.

"Hey," she croaked, "Glad we didn't lose you, idiot."

Sasuke's head was pounding, still.

"She... Her chakra," he rasped out, "she over did it, didn't she?"

Ino sighed, her pink-from-bloodstains fingers pausing from running through Sakura's hair. "Yeah, she did."

Sasuke glared.

Sakura could be so stupid.

"She hasn't moved, you know," Ino commented, softly, "From your side, or Naruto's. She was adamant to leave the camp; she wanted to be the one to treat you guys." She turned to him, a grin on her chapped and bruised lips. "Isn't she great?"

But Sasuke didn't comment; rather, he stared at Sakura's head for a second longer before he turned to stare at Naruto who, much to his character, was sprawled all over the tatami mat, mouth wide open and a strip of drool at the side of his lips.

Sasuke would have smirked, had the idiot not chosen that same exact moment to sit up and screech,

"I'M AWAKE."

Which caused Sakura to sit up and caused Sasuke to twitch and Ino to sigh.

Naruto looked over at them, blue eyes still slightly hazy. "I got hungry after the me in my dream started eating ramen," he chuckled, scratching at his messy hair.

"You're an idiot," Ino said, shaking her head and standing up from her seat. "I'll tell the others the two glorious idiots are awake."

She left them in a cloud of silence as Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto sat there, staring at different spots within the tent.

Sasuke's brow furrowed as he recalled accusing Naruto of being the one to attack him with the Rasengan. Of course it wasn't Naruto, he mused, slowly sitting up, it had to be a Zetsu. A Zetsu transformed as Naruto. Which would imply that they got their hands on Naruto.

"You," he choked, sparing Naruto a glance, "got attacked?"

Naruto's grin was gone and he was staring at him - at the both of them - with a serious face. "Yeah... Kiba, Shikamaru and me were on the move and the damn Zetsu appeared out of nowhere."

"They can blend into the wildlife."

Naruto shook his head, angry.

They heard a sob, next to them and they both turned to Sakura as she sat on the ground, on her knees and wringing her hands in front of her. She looked up at them, lips contorted into what was a hybrid of a smile and a frown, lower lip quivering. She was crying, now, freely, and she whispered, "I'm just so glad you're both okay."


	40. metamorphosis

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To seleneswan, Just Lovely., and neon kun.

**notes: **I'LL DO YOU IN THE BOTTOM WHILE YOU'RE SIPPING SANGRIA.**  
><strong>

x

breathe_slow_

The tent was quiet.

The entire camp was quiet.

Crickets were singing around everyone; a soft serenade; background music. Yet, it was so quiet, the bushes could be heard ruffling around as some small animal tried to find its way home. An owl hooted ominously, every two minutes. Outside, the stars were probably out, shining over a blanket of indigo.

Sasuke sat on his tatami bed, quiet and barely breathing.

His abdomen felt better than ever; much better than earlier that day. Though it still stung - a tingle, was a better word - and though his back still ached from all the trees he crashed against, Sasuke felt replenished.

Yet he sat there, in the emergency tent, in the darkness, swallowed by the quiet and the tension.

He could barely make out Naruto's blond hair in the sea of dark; even Sakura's pink hair barely stood out.

But maybe that was because Sasuke wasn't trying to see them; rather, he was dead set in avoiding them.

He felt awkward.

This was actually the first time the three were together and weren't attempting to kill each other.

And yet...

They'd all been quiet, since Sakura's relieved tears. Even Naruto hadn't spoken so much as a word. It was hard to take in; having someone worry about you, when that someone had been your target, and you theirs.

But then again...

This was _Sakura_.

Haruno Sakura.

She was always worried sick about either Naruto or Sasuke. Always worried, to the point where she figuratively cried tears of blood.

And this time... This time'd be the second time she saved them.

Sasuke's eyes glazed over as his mind wandered back to that day, years ago, where he'd been first bitten by Orochimaru and given the curse seal. Sakura'd held his hand, not even flinching as he gripped it to the point of breaking bones. And not only that, his subconscious mused, but she'd taken a horrible beating just to ensure not only his safety, but Naruto's as well.

His hands clenched into fists, at his sides, without him even realizing it.

The way they'd left Sakura, that day... It still made his anger escalate; the memory of a black-eyed, swollen-faced, scratched up, and hair-chopped Sakura... It didn't sit well with him.

At some point, he would admit as he got out of his reverie, Naruto and Sakura were his friends.

Hadn't he almost died trying to protect either one?

Hadn't he stepped in the middle of a rain of senbons aimed at Naruto, took every hit and stood over him, half-dead?

Hadn't Sasuke always interfered and protected Sakura every time an attack was aimed at her?

Friends; they... they were his friends, once.

There was movement and sniffles; Sakura had moved her hands to wipe at her still-damp cheeks. The first movement they'd made for a long, long while.

Across from him, Naruto finally sighed.

"Can't," he began, his blue eyes glowing in the dark, "Can't we just be okay, again?"

Sasuke swallowed, thickly.

(_Say yes; it's what you want to say. Say it, Sasuke._

_Say it!_)

"I mean," Naruto went on, "...We've been through a lot... Like, _a lot_. But the thing is... We've been through a lot not only _because_ of each other, but _for_ each other, too. That has to mean something to you guys too."

It went quiet, again.

Sakura sniffled, looking up with pinked green eyes. "We've tried to kill each other, Naruto. Think about the severity of that..."

"Who _cares_," Naruto said, his voice rising with passion and anger. "That's then; this is now. Holding on to grudges and hate and the past is what made us go through all that! Can't you guys _see_ that?" He was standing up, now, running a hand through his disheveled hair and stepping closer into the triangle they made. "Sasuke... What he did, was all for the right reasons but done with the wrong decisions. That's what I think. I think he had his best intentions at heart but he's so... So... _Stupid_ to do it right.

"I mean, Sasuke's tried to kill me; he's tried to kill you, too, Sakura. But so have you, and for a long moment, I was convinced I had to kill him, too. I've let that go... Because... Because there are things more important to me, than that."

He stared at them, eyes hard with emotion and the desperation for them to understand.

"My team means everything to me; you guys were my family, y'know? I've said it so many times, I sound like a broken tape recorder. I just want us to be okay, again..."

Silence consumed them, once more, and Naruto's words ricocheted in Sasuke's head.

He'd tried to kill Naruto so many times, he couldn't even remember the actual amount. He left him for dead in the Valley of the End. He pressed his Kusanagi against his flesh more than once. He'd tried to _kill_ Naruto. Actually kill him.

No bluff.

No whims.

Just actual death.

And Naruto knew that.

And yet... There he was, still wishing to be his friend.

Why was he so _stupid_.

Sasuke's head pulsed as he thought about all the change he'd gone through, throughout the endless days that'd gone by.

He thought about Ino's anger, with him, because of everything he'd put Sakura and Naruto through. He thought about Ino's words and how they stung against his flesh. He thought about how she - a girl from his generation, someone who didn't know him like the back of her hand, someone who had every right to hate him... Actually didn't, but, rather, tried to make him see she still saw him as one of her own.

And then his mind drifted, and he thought about the others; about Sai and Shikamaru and Kiba. How it'd all been like he had never left. How Kiba annoyed him, purposefully. How Shikamaru just sat and pretended to help, whilst actually staring at the clouds.

With all that, his anger subdued, little by little, along with his resent and his hate. Dormant - they went dormant within him and allowed rationality to take over. Where he protected and fought and helped.

How long had it been since he did all that?

"So what do you say," Naruto finally said, voice hoarse and soft. "I'm not... I'm not saying we're gonna be like the old days; I'm not even saying we'll be fully okay, for a long, long while. But it's a start, right? I mean... Sasuke's back, Sakura." He came to a halt, lips half-opened as if he were about to speak. Both he and Sakura turned towards Sasuke, anxious and paranoid and devastated.

"...You are back... Right...?"

Sasuke was stiff.

He sat on his tatami mat, back rim-rod straight, hands clenched into fists and eyes on his lap.

(_Say yes!_

_Say yes, Sasuke, say it!_)

"Sasuke...?" That was Sakura's soft, unsure voice. Perhaps she needed reassurance. Perhaps she didn't want to agree, if he was still going to hurt them. Perhaps she was scared.

But then again, maybe they were all scared.

All three of them.

"Are you," they both asked, in sync. Soft, unsure and scared.

Sasuke swallowed, jaw tensing and his eyes wandering over the darkness before he settled to staring at where their figures were outlined. His heart was racing, his nerves tingling, his limbs shaking. This was hard; so hard. This was... This was a milestone, for everything he'd done in his life.

It was like the first good thing he'd do.

But... A milestone signified there was no going back, right? In a way, at least.

Was he back?

Would he leave, again?

Would he try to kill Naruto and Sakura?

Was he even supposed to know, right now?

Sasuke swallowed, again and inhaled. His eyes were still on them as he fought with himself. Maybe he was over analyzing everything. Maybe he was just scared. But his impulsion woke up and he found himself saying, "Back."


	41. resolve

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To the feeling of _pure _annoyance and its sister-feeling of keeping it inside. One day, one day the steam will come out~ Also, to The Scarlet Ribbon, coz she was sick.

**notes: **I've named the seeequeel~ Actually, it's been named for a while... Not that I'm tellin'. I just found it appropriate to say since we're, like, so, _so_ close to the end. I'm talking about _you should be expecting it right about now_ close.**  
><strong>

x

breathe_slow_

Sasuke stood over the tatami mat that had been his bed for the past day and a half.

He wasn't sure he wanted to leave the tent. Mostly, because he didn't know what he was going to find, outside. And with that, it left him unprepared for a reaction.

Did everyone know, already?

Was Team Seven's unofficial reestablishment out there, in between those that knew them?

Was Sasuke going to be looked at differently, now, because he had Naruto's support?

The idea of the last one bothered him more than he thought it'd would. Sasuke didn't want anyone to treat him differently just because of the idiot. If he was going to be received differently, he wanted it to be off of their own accord and his own actions. But... Then again, he'd never really cared about what anyone else had to say, about him.

But the thought was still bothersome.

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his very messy hair.

He'd love a shower, right about then.

He was caked in blood to the point where it made him think about his state when he had been first hauled into Konoha and kept in the jail cell.

Staring at the tan material of the tent sheltering him, he fixed his nin-pants around his hips. He heard footsteps behind him, causing him to stiffen up and look over his shoulder.

Naruto appeared, grinning at him and a new change of shinobi gear in one of his hands.

"Sakura-chan made me bring this to you," he said, throwing the clothes onto the tatami mat.

Sasuke gave a curt nod as he went on to change into the fresh clothes. From his peripheral vision, he saw Naruto dump himself onto the tatami mat adjacent to his, hands stuffed in how own new nin-pants and messy blond hair falling over his eyes.

It was quiet between them.

Sasuke was glad that at least they weren't suffocating each other with awkwardness.

It was... smooth, the quietness.

Mutual.

Not forced.

Which was weird, in itself, given how Naruto was a loudmouth who always had something to say.

Sasuke sighed, turning around just as he finished zipping up his flak jacket. His hands were bare, he noted, bringing his sleeves down over his hands with the help of his thumbs. He looked around the tent for something he could use, staring at the stools with medical equipment lying around. He finally found what he was looking for on a stool closest to where Naruto sat.

"Hand me that," he said, nudging his chin at the roll of bandages.

Naruto looked up at him before sparing the roll a glance, grabbing it and throwing it at him.

Sasuke caught it just as he sat down on the edge of the mat. He made sure Naruto wasn't watching as he rolled his sleeves up and began to wrap the bandages around his hands until it ended at the middle of his forearms. He brought the sleeves back down over them, bending over to kick on his nin-boots. With that done, he began to re-strap his ninja pouch over his right thigh, making sure he was all ready for another round on the battlefield.

He stood up, then, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring down at the ground with his messy forelocks shadowing his eyes.

"Here," Naruto called out, already standing, as well.

Sasuke looked up and was quick to catch what the blond thrown at him.

He stared down at the dark cloth and the heavy plaque baring Konoha's insignia.

"It was in your other flak jacket," Naruto continued, quiet. "It felt heavy, when Sakura-chan was taking it away. So we checked for any stray kunai or shuriken. But we found that instead."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto. There was a hitai-ate around his forehead, dark like the one in his grip.

Vaguely and crudely, he wondered what happened to his very first hitai-ate.

He nodded, folding it up and stuffing it in his pocket. Sasuke watched as Naruto watched him with a bit of confusion, expecting him to say something.

But nothing was said.

Together the two walked out of the tent and into the cloudy day.

Medical ninjas moved around with hasty strides - some even ran around from tent to tent, barking orders at each other and looking too pale to be called healthy. Shinobi that were meant to be out in the battle field wandered around, perhaps preparing to depart back to their tents or trying to find a med-nin who could help them sort some pain.

The medical camp was hectic and stuffy, Sasuke decided with apparent distaste.

They wandered around, Sasuke reluctantly following Naruto as they both tried to find the others.

"Hey," Naruto began, something like worry in his tone. "...The Zetsu that attacked me... He's out there, isn't he?"

Sasuke spared him a glance before looking around the camp, and at the trees that surrounded them. "Hn."

"It has my chakra," Naruto went on, not at all bothered by Sasuke's grunts. "...Maybe it has the Nine Tails' chakra, too... I just made shit _worse_."

It was quiet for a second, before Sasuke scoffed and shook his head.

"There was a lot of shit going on out there, from the beginning." He shrugged a shoulder, coming to a stop when the others came into view. "War is war; it'll get killed eventually."

"Guess _what_," Ino said, grinning at them. Shikamaru, Sai, Kiba and Sakura stood around her, all looking pleased and resolved. "We've decided to disband from the army's ruling. We're gonna go out there and kill these Zetsus ourselves." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and added, "The others are going to meet us up."

Sasuke and Naruto spared each other a glance.

"I'm _in_," Naruto beamed, pumping a fist up in the air and looking completely consumed with excitement. "This'll be _great_! I'll kill those damn Zetsus after what they—"

"Wait," Sasuke said, ignoring the jolt of apprehension that came with speaking freely around them, now. "You mean to tell us we're rebelling against the army and going off into the woods to destroy our enemies without tact or a formation?"

The others shrugged and nodded.

Sasuke was almost horrified.

He turned to Shikamaru, "And you're _agreeing_ to this."

Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and slouched in his stance. "Well, this entire order and organization's not doing us any good. We're getting attacked and hurt no matter what we do. So we might as well be as wild and cunning as our enemies. Besides," he drawled, rolling his shoulders, "The joint army's enormous; we won't even be noticed."

Sasuke was actually horrified, now, even with the adrenaline of excitement beginning to swell in his veins.

"And how exactly have you contacted the others," he asked, his brow furrowing.

"I sent some ink rats to find them and let them know," Sai said, that smile of his on his lips. "I ordered them not to dissolve until they have brought me their answers."

Sasuke eyed Sai for a second, rolling this information around in his head. That'd make sense... That'd make sense a lot. He stared at them all; at Ino and at Shikamaru and at Sai and at Kiba and at Sakura and Naruto. At their determination.

They were at war.

They were at war and they were basically agreeing to going off and doing something stupid. Something inside him told him they should have been levelheaded; but even Shikamaru had agreed and regardless of how much of a genius Sasuke was considered to be, Shikamaru was ten steps ahead.

He clenched his jaw and figured there was nothing to lose.

"I suppose," he replied, looking away.

They'd notice Sakura's absence first, he concluded. She was supposed to be traveling from camp to camp, treating those that they had injured. Without her traveling, they'd notice something was up. But the question was whether they'd be punished or not. Which, now that he thought about it, they probably would not.

War was war.

And whether they were following rules or not, they were doing their part. If they got themselves killed, it'd just be war casualty.

It worked out.

It worked out, he repeated as he mused, as they all began to slowly walk away, picking up their speed as the second rolled by. With the group being the offense and Sakura being their med-nin. It worked out; they'd be able to pull it off as a group on scouting duty.

As it should have been, he decided, somewhat quietly.

They all took off into the trees.


	42. thunder

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To Sonya, music and sleep. And Hannah coz she loves this story.

**notes: **I listened to Young The Giant & Lady Gaga when I wrote this. :) Also~ guess what next chapter is. Also, I have some PM's to reply to. /procrastinator**  
><strong>

x

breathe_slow_

Kunais rained down on them.

Sasuke didn't get a chance to pause and ponder over it before he was attacked by another Zetsu. He rolled out of the way, standing up and slicing at it with a kunai; silently, he groaned at the fact that this would have all been easier if his Kusanagi was with him.

When the Zetsu he'd been fighting turned into a tree, Sasuke whirled around just to pause as someone dropped right dead and center into the battlefield and began to fight Zetsus with an endless supply of arsenal.

Tenten was a dragon, Sasuke decided (he vaguely wondered how he remembered her name), as he watched her whirl and twirl around taking down Zetsus left and right. A lethal dragon.

He wondered when the hell the others had arrived.

The Hyuugas, Chouji, Lee, Shino and Tenten.

Hours after leaving the medical tent, they'd been ambushed by a herd of Zetsus, causing them to pause in their track and fight them off. Dozens upon dozens; it was as if they now lacked the brain to form plans and be astute; brash and sloppy, that's what they were, now.

A Zetsu was lunging towards him, he calculated, his Sharingan slowly turning to stare at it from the corner of his eyes.

He was amidst crouching down to attack when someone else did it for him. The Zetsu was quick to die off and transform into yet another tree. Sasuke looked up at Tenten, who was staring at him with a sharp smirk and a spark in her eyes.

She swept the katana in the air to rid it of the greenish goo before thrusting her arm towards Sasuke, as if she was going to aim a punch at him. The katana was pointing downwards, he noted just as he also grasped the fact that she was handing it to him.

Sasuke took it, apprehensively, and watched her as she disappeared with the speed that Team Gai was notorious for, and went back to fighting against their enemies.

He stood there, not minding that the Zetsus were paying attention to those fighting them, rather than to him.

He'd never been close to Team Gai... Never really knew them to that level, now, did he?

And yet...

"Oi, Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke blinked and looked up.

Naruto was speeding up, glowing orange as the Nine Tails' chakra surrounded him. He turned to look at Sasuke, his blue eyes contrasting against the orange. "Quit standing like a girl, or I'm _really_ gonna beat you!"

Sasuke scoffed, and with his infamous speed, he assaulted the Zetsus.

They were endless, the Zetsus. Neji and Hinata used their Eight Trigrams; Kiba and Akamaru tag-teamed; Tenten sliced; Shino used his bugs; Chouji, Shikamaru and Ino used their teamwork; Lee was going crazy with his taijutsu; Sai had pack of ink tigers to do his bidding; Naruto was being Naruto; Sakura was punching craters left and right and Sasuke...

Sasuke felt at home with the katana in his grip.

Electricity crackled - the song of a thousand birds - as he activated his Chidori Nagashi and sped off, in a blur, from one place to the other, piercing every Zetsu he could find.

"TEN!" Naruto called out when they passed each other.

Sasuke scoffed and said nothing.

If he had ten, then Sasuke had ten _more_.

(_Look at that._

_You're having fun, aren't you?_)

Time flew like the startled birds in the sky. The sky was dark and the stars were beginning to come out and stare at their ruckus with twinkling disapproval. Sasuke was more than positive all of them were beginning to run low on chakra.

It was a cliche, Sasuke decided, utterly furious. It was a cliche how everyone was close to dropping to the ground - Byakugans deactivated, ink manipulations ceased, arsenals went low - and a sudden loud explosion was heard. Everyone turned to look at Sakura, who was crouching down, on the other side, lips parted as she tried to breathe and green eyes wide.

"That wasn't me," she called out, shaking her head.

A blur of glowing orange lunged into the clearing, and Naruto stood over them with an unreadable expression on his face. But then, before any of them said anything to him, another glowing Naruto appeared. And another. And another.

And another.

And more.

Everyone was frozen in their spots, just staring as a mass of Narutos stood before them with the same blank expression.

"They can _reproduce_," Kiba barked out to no one in particular.

They turned to Sasuke.

"What," he spat at them.

"Well?"

"...You expect me to _know_?" His anger began to rise, driving his chakra to continue to pump through his system.

What, was that them accusing him of something, he wondered?

Was that them thinking he knew everything about the things Madara had control over?

What the hell was that?

Sasuke began to brittle up and start to build a wall around himself; but then he paused.

Why should he disconnect himself when he can just prove them wrong?

Sasuke knew what he could do to stop all the Naruto-Zetsus in their tracks. His eyes drifted up to the sky and his brow furrowed in annoyance at the lack of what he was searching for. He looked back down at the Zetsus, poised to attack at any given moment.

"I got this," Naruto bellowed, jumping off of a tree branch and landing closest to the enemy. But just as he stood back to his full height, the glowing orange chakra of the Nine Tails disappeared in a blink of an eye. Naruto looked down at himself and cursed under his breath. "Crap, man. I used too much of the chakra..."

"Move," Sasuke murmured, walking forth with a livid glare in his eyes.

Naruto turned to him, mouth opened to say something.

But Sasuke didn't want to hear it.

Let's see what they would accuse him of next, after he saves their asses in one blow.

"_I got it_," he sneered, throwing the katana aside and not paying mind to it as it pierced the dirt ground. "Get behind me. All of you."

Sasuke could picture them all looking at each other with the same puzzled expression on their faces. He could picture them not trusting him or his words. He could picture them not moving at all, trying to see what he was up to.

(_One step forwards, two step backs._

_Relax, Sasuke, they didn't mean anything by it._)

Naruto was staring at him, exhausted face pale and eyes narrowed as he studied him. Sasuke's glare pinned onto him, his lips contorted into a deep frown.

He nodded, "C'mon, guys. Let's just... Let's just move back."

Movement was heard, but Sasuke didn't listen to it as he began to do the signs of a jutsu he knew by heart. A jutsu that scarred his very core.

Snake.

Ram.

Monkey.

Boar.

Horse.

Tiger.

Instead of leaning forwards, he leaned back and aimed the massive ball of scorching flames up onto the sky. He stared at it with spinning Sharingan eyes as it flew into the sky, smoke surrounding them and the result sought for becoming clear as thunder clouds began to form into the sky.

The fireball disappeared and thunder began to rumble in the air.

Sasuke gasped for air, not giving anything any time.

Except, well, the Zetsus weren't stupid at all.

They began to move towards him in attempts to prevent him from continuing.

"Tenten," he heard Sakura call out, "Start aiming at them before they could get to Sasuke!"

Sasuke raised a hand into the air, knees bending without much notice. His jaw clenched to the point where it hurt, but all Sasuke could concentrate on was at the lightning zapping onto his raised palm. It burned; but the burn was something Sasuke welcomed; something he was used to; something he felt was like home.

Lightning continued to shoot onto his palm, growing stronger and whirling with the power Sasuke was addicted to. He stared as every Naruto-Zetsu that tried to lunge at him was stopped dead in its track by a kunai or a shuriken or some sort of weapon whizzing by. It didn't stop them entirely, but it was enough to give Sasuke time.

"C'mon, c'mon," Sasuke hissed through his teeth, looking up as his entire arm glowed and crackled a blinding blue. Electricity continued to zoom towards him and Sasuke could feel it. He could feel Kirin growing stronger and stronger and stronger. His breathing was erratic and he was likely to pass out at any moment but his drive to prove to the others...

(_Your drive to protect them_.)

...It kept him still, kept him waiting until he was more than sure it was ready.

Sasuke could hear them screaming, behind him.

They probably were all aiming weapons at them, now.

Did they trust him?

Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes closed.

His head pulsed.

Was it ready?

Enough or not, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.

"Kirin!"

And electricity was everywhere. An enormous mass skyrocketed towards the Zetsus and caused a thunderous quake as it met its mark.

Sasuke dropped to the ground as his knees gave out on him. But before he could land on the ground entirely, he felt a lap pillow his head and break his fall.

"Sasuke!"

Was that everyone cheering for him?

Sasuke's eyes closed and his pale lips formed the tiniest of a smirk.


	43. thirteen

**title: **breathe slow  
><strong>pairing: <strong>eventual SasuSaku.  
><strong>dedication: <strong>To the art of breathing.

**notes: **Well, here we are. Pretty epic ride, if I do say so myself. In reply to the most asked question of last chapter, I don't know who was the one that pillowed Sasuke's head. It could have been Naruto, could have been Ino... it could have been Sakura, too. I don't know who it was, coz Sasuke doesn't know who it was. You know what I'm saying? :)**  
><strong>

x

breathe_slow_

He felt warm, as he slowly began to wake up.

It was a lot of reluctance, that he opened his eyes and looked around at the source of the warmness that cocooned his body. His head pulsed for a quick second and his throat felt dry; his body ached and felt weak and as light as a feather.

All in the day's work of depleting his chakra.

There was an enormous fire in the middle of what was a rather big circle of bodies.

They all sat in different positions; on their stomachs, on their sides, a leg bent at the knee, criss-cross, legs spread out. Sasuke was leaning against a tree, legs spread out in front of him and still managing to be a part of the circle. He could hear a buzz of conversation going on, still too muffled for his brain as it tried to wake itself up.

Behind the circle was a very enormous gap where trees had once been. Now it was occupied with soot and craters and the stench of something that was once burning.

Kirin.

It worked, then.

Sasuke shook his head and brought a hand up to rub at his eyes. His head pulsed and pounded and white dots spotted around as he continuously blinked his eyes to get rid of the blur and make everything sharp and right. He took a deep breath in and cracked the kinks out of his neck.

He heard someone to his right, sigh.

Sasuke turned to stare at Naruto, who was staring back at him.

It was only then that he noticed everyone watching him.

He'd of grown stiffer than he already was hadn't Ino winked at him, reassuringly and had everyone else not be sporting some sort of smile or brightness in their faces.

Sasuke clenched his jaw and turned back to Naruto, catching Sakura peeking at him from over the blond's shoulder, her own reassuring smile on her lips and a glint in her green eyes. Behind her Sai stared with a tilted head.

Naruto sighed, again.

"I _guess_ you won," he said, sullenly.

It was quiet.

Sasuke allowed the sentence to bounce around in his head as he sucked at the foreign feeling of peace that surrounded him.

Peace.

It was a feeling Sasuke as not used to, and possibly one he'd never really would get used to.

But it was there. It was feint, but it was there.

Not everything was okay, he knew. Not with his head, not with his feelings, not with the war. Not with everything.

But it was calm and peaceful enough.

"_This_ time," Naruto went on, thrusting his nose in the air. "I'll win for sure, tomorrow."

Sasuke scoffed, indignantly.

Everyone laughed.


End file.
